0. Übersicht

1. Einleitung

2. Hintergrund: Tibetischer Buddhismus

Tibetan Buddhism, (formerly also called Lamaism
after their religious gurus
known as
lamas), is the body of religious
Buddhist doctrine and institutions characteristic of Tibet
and the
Himalayan region. It is a school within
Tantric Buddhism (also called
Vajrayana Buddhism), which in turn is part of the greater
Mahayana school.

Distinguishing characteristics

Tibetan Buddhism may be distinguished from other schools of
Tantric Buddhism by a number of unique traits including:

belief in reincarnation lineages of certain lamas (known as
Sprul-skus) such as the
Dalai Lama

a practice wherein lost or hidden ancient scriptures (gter-mas)
are recovered by spiritual masters (cf.
gter-stons)

belief that a
Buddha can be manifest in human form, such as in the person
of
Padmasambhava, the saint who brought Tibetan Buddhism to the
Himalayas

In common with other Tantric schools (primarily
Shingon Buddhism in
Japan),
Tibetan Buddhism is
esoteric and
tantric. It is esoteric because it believes the religious texts
or sutras
can only be interpreted by a religious master. It is tantric because
it believes the path to
enlightenment is greatly accelerated by the use of certain
external rituals and ritual objects (see below). Special utterances
known as mantras
aid in achieving a higher state of awareness.

In common with Mahayana schools, Tibetan Buddhism believes in a
pantheon of Buddhas,
bodhisattvas, and
Dharmapala, also known as Dharma protectors. Bodhisattvas are
enlightened beings who themselves are able to escape the cycle of
death and rebirth but compassionately choose to remain here in
this world to assist others in reaching
nirvana or Buddhahood. Dharma protectors are mythic and often
fearsome figures incorporated into Tibetan Buddhism from various
sources including
Hinduism and the Bön
religion. They are pledged to protecting and upholding the Dharma.
A town or district may have its own Dharma protector with its own
local mythology.

Rituals and ritual objects

Tantric practitioners make use of special rituals and objects.
Meditation is an important function which may be aided by the
use of certain hand gestures (mudras)
and
chanted mantras
(such as the famous mantra of
Spyan-ras-gzigs: "om
mani padme hum"). A number of esoteric meditation techniques are
employed by different traditions, including
mahamudra,
Rdzongs-can, and in the Bka'-rgyud school the
Six yogas of Naropa. Qualified practitioners may also study or
construct special cosmic diagrams known as
mandalas which assist in inner spiritual development. A lama
may make use of a
Rdo-rje,
a small eight-pronged dumbell-like object representing a
diamond-strong sceptre which represents method or compassion, along
with a
handbell known as a
'Bril-bu which represents wisdom. A ritual dagger or
'Phur-ba
is symbolically used to kill demons, thus releasing them to a better
rebirth.

Non-initiates in Tibetan Buddhism may gain merit by performing
rituals such as food and flower offerings, water offerings (performed
with a set of bowls), religious pilgrimages, or chanting
prayers (see also
prayer wheel and
prayer flag). They may also light
butter lamps at the local temple or fund monks to do so on their
behalf.

Villagers may also gain blessings by observing or participating
in
cham dances. Energetic dancers wearing masks and richly
ornamented costumes perform each sacred dance while accompanied by
monks playing traditional
Tibetan musical instruments. The dances offer moral instruction
such as non-harm to sentient beings and are said to bring merit to
all who observe them. In Bhutan
the dances are performed during an annual religious festival known
as
tsechu which is held in each district. At certain festivals
a large painting known as a
thongdrol is also briefly unfurled — the mere glimpsing of
the thongdrol is believed to carry such merit as to free the
observer from all present sin (see
Culture of Bhutan).. Cham dances are prohibited in Tibet by the
PRC government.

Schools of Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism has four main schools (the suffix pa
means sect):

Nyingma(pa), The Ancient Ones, the oldest and
original school founded by Padmasambhava himself

Kagyu(pa), Oral Lineage, headed by the
Karmapa and having four major sub-sects: the
Karma Kagyu, the
Tsalpa Kagyu, the
Baram Kagyu, and
Pagtru Kagyu; as well as eight minor sub-sects, the most
notable of which are the
Drikung Kagyu and the
Drukpa Kagyu; and the once-obscure
Shangpa Kagyu, which was famously represented by the
20th century teacher
Kalu
Rinpoche.

Sakya(pa), Grey Earth, headed by the Sakya Trizin,
founded by Sakya Pandita 1182-1251CE

Geluk(pa), Way of Virtue, also known as Yellow
Hats, whose spiritual head is the
Ganden Tripa and whose temporal head is the
Dalai Lama, who was ruler of Tibet
from the mid-17th to mid-20th centuries.

And one minor one:

Jonang(pa), suppressed by the rival Gelukpas in the 1600s
and once thought extinct, but now known to survive in Eastern
Tibet.

There is also an
ecumenical movement known as
Rime (alternative spelling:Rimed).

See
Tibetan Buddhist canon for a list of important tantric texts
recognized by different sects.

History of Tibetan Buddhism

Certain Buddhist scriptures arrived in southern Tibet from India
as early as
173 CE during the reign of
Thothori Nyantsen, the 28th king of Tibet. During the
third century the scriptures were disseminated to northern Tibet
(which was not part of the same kingdom at the time). The influence
of Buddhism was not great, however, and the form was certainly not
tantric as the earliest tantric sutras had just begun to be written
in India.

The most important event in Tibetan Buddhist history, however,
was the arrival of the great tantric mystic
Padmasambhava in Tibet in
774 at
the invitation of King
Trisong Detsen. It was Padmasambhava (more commonly known in the
region as Guru Rinpoche) who merged tantric Buddhism with the
local Bön religion to form what we now recognize as Tibetan Buddhism.
In addition to writing a number of important scriptures (some of
which he hid for future
tertons
to find), Padmasambhava established the
Nyingma school from which all schools of Tibetan Buddhism are
derived.

Tibetan Buddhism exerted a strong influence from the
11th century CE among the peoples of
Central Asia, especially in
Mongolia and
Manchuria. It was adopted as an official state religion by the Mongol
Yuan dynasty and the Manchu
Qing dynasty of
China."

Nyingma (rNying-ma)

"The Nyingma school of Tibetan Buddhism traces its origin
to the Indian adept, Guru Padmasambhava, who came to Tibet in 817
C.E. at the invitation of King Trisong Deutsan (742-797) in order to
subdue the evil forces then impeding the spread of Buddhism. Guru
Rinpochey, as he is popularly known, bound all evil spirits by oath
and transformed them into forces compatible with the spread of
Buddhism. In collaboration with the great Bodhisattva Abbot
Shantarakshita, Guru Rinpochey then built Samyey monastery, which
became a principal centre of learning and the site where many of the
texts that would make up Tibet's vast Buddhist literature were first
translated into Tibetan.

Guru Rinpochey also gave widespread
teachings from the highest classes of tantra and in particular to
his twenty-five principal disciples. These first Tibetan adepts are
renowned for their spiritual accomplishments, for example, Namkhe
Nyingpo for his feat of travelling on beams of light, Khandro Yeshe
Tsogyal for reviving the dead, Vairochana for his intuition, Nanam
Yeshe for soaring in the sky, Kawa Peltseg for reading others
thought and Jnana Kumara for his miraculous powers.

Contemporary Indian masters Vimalamitra, Buddhaguhya, Shantipa
and the tantric adept, Dharmakirti, also came to Tibet and spread
tantric teachings. So, although the study of logic and Buddhist
philosophy was not yet prevalent, the practice of tantra in extreme
secrecy was much favoured. Even the work of translating such
esoteric texts as Kun-byed rgyal-po, mDo-dgougs-'dus and the
Mahamaya cycle of teachings by Vairochana, Nyag Jnana Kumara,
Nubchen Sangye Yeshe and others, was carried out in great secrecy.

Seeing the disciples unripe and the time inappropriate for many
of the other teachings he had to reveal, Guru Padmasambhava hid
hundreds of Treasures in the forms of scriptures, images and ritual
articles, with instructions for their revelation for the benefit of
future generations. Subsequently, more than one hundred masters have
revealed these Treasures and taught them to their disciples. So,
besides the tantric teachings, it is these lineages of revealed
teachings combined with the Great Completion or Dzogchen doctrine
taught and disseminated successively by Garab Doyjer, Shri Simha,
Guru Rinpochey, Jnana Sutra, Vimala Mitra, which are distinguished
in Tibet as Nyingma doctrine.

The Nyingma tradition divides the entire Buddhist teachings into
Nine Vehicles: the Three Common Vehicles comprising the Hearer,
Solitary Realizer, and Bodhisattva vehicles dealing with those
categories of teachings included in the sutras taught by Buddha
Shakyamuni; the Three Outer Tantras consisting of Kriya Tantra which
places greater emphasis on practising proper external behaviour,
physical and verbal conduct aimed at purification and simple
visualisation practice; Upa Tantra which lays more emphasis on
developing both external and internal faculties with the goal of
achieving a deeper affinity with the meditational deity; and Yoga
Tantra, which I mainly aimed at developing the strength of inner
psychophysical vitality as taught by Vajrasattva. Finally, the Three
Innermost Tantras comprising Mahayoga, primarily emphasising the
Generation Stage practice in which the ordinary level of perception
and attachment are eliminated through sacred vision and divine pride;
the Annuyoga, emphasising Completion Stage practice in which the
vajra body is used as a serviceable means to actualise primordial
awareness and the Atiyoga, in which all emphasis is directed towards
full activation of the generation and completion stage practices,
enabling the yogi to transcend all ordinary time, activity and
experience, as taught by Samantabhadra Buddha.

The first six of these nine vehicles are common to all schools of
Tibetan Buddhism, whereas the last three, the Innermost Tantras, are
exclusive to the Nyingma tradition.

Due to the slightly different approaches of various lineages in
presenting Dzogchen three sub-schools have developed: The Mind
School (Sems-sde) is attributed to Shrisimha and Vairochana's
lineage, the Centredness School (kLong-sde) is attributed to
Longde Dorje Zampa, and Shrisimha and Vairochana's lineage, whereas
the Quintessential Instruction School (Man-ngag-sde) is
attributed directly to Guru Padmasambhava's lineage of the Heart's
Drop (sNying-thig) cycle of teachings and practice. Although
Dzogchen is the unique feature of Nyingma practice, even among the
lay followers the practice of reciting Guru Rinpochey's prayers,
observing the 10th and 25th of every lunar month as a day for feast
offerings, and even retiring into retreat for three years and three
months individually or in company are common.

According to the history of the origin of tantras there are three
lineages: The Lineage of Buddha's Intention, which refers to the
teachings of the Truth Body originating from the primordial Buddha
Samantabhadra, who is said to have taught tantras to an assembly of
completely enlightened beings emanated from the Truth Body itself.
Therefore, this level of teaching is considered as being completely
beyond the reach of ordinary human beings. The Lineage of the
Knowledge Holders corresponds to the teachings of the Enjoyment Body
originating from Vajrasattva and Vajrapani, whose human lineage
begins with Garab Dorje of the Ögyan Dakini land. From him the
lineage passed to Manjushrimitra, Shrisimha and then to Guru
Rinpochey, Jnanasutra, Vimalamitra and Vairochana who disseminated
it in Tibet. Lastly, the Human Whispered Lineage corresponds to the
teachings of the Emanation Body, originating from the Five Buddha
Families. They were passed on to Shrisimha, who transmitted them to
Guru Rinpochey, who in giving them to Vimalamitra started the
lineage which has continued in Tibet until the present day.

This last mode of transmission is most commonly employed for
ordinary people. However, the former two lineages may still exist
amongst the highly realised Dzogchen masters.

There is yet another tradition which enumerates six lineages for
the origin of the tantras by adding: the Commissioned Instruction
Lineage (bK'a-babs lung-bstan-gyi-btgyud-pa), the Treasure
Doctrine Lineage of the Fortunate One's (Las-'phrn
gter-gyi-brgyud- pa) and the Lineage of Trustees Established
Through Prayers (sMon-lam gtad-rgya'i-brgyud-pa).

The Nyingma tantric literature and its transmission is classified
into three groups: the Oral, Treasures, and Visions. These three may
be further subsumed under two categories: the Oral comprising
primarily the tantras and associated texts belonging to the cycle of
Mahayoga tantras; the root and explanatory tantra belonging to the
cycle of Annuyoga tantras; and finally, the Atiyoga or Dzogchen
cycle of tantras.

The Treasure transmission comprises the innumerable treasure
texts revealed by subsequent Treasure Masters, which were hidden by
Guru Rinpochey himself in 9th century as well as numerous teachings
later revealed through enlightened minds and meditative visions of
Nyingma masters. Hundreds of masters have appeared who have revealed
treasures. Among them, Nyangral Nyima Özer (1124-92), Guru Chowang
(1212-70), Dorje Lingpa (1346-1405), Padma Lingpa (b.1405) and
Jamyang Khyentse (1820-1892) are renowned as the Five Kings of the
Treasure Masters. Their revealed treasures concern, among others,
the cycle of teachings and meditations related to Avalokiteshvara,
Guru Rinpochey's sadhanas, the Dzogchen teachings, the Ka-gyey cycle
of teachings, the Vajrakila or Phurba cycle of teachings, medicine
and prophecies.

Hence, in addition to the standard Mahayana Buddhist canon of the
Kangyur and Tangyur, many further teachings may be found in the
Collection of a Hundred Thousand Nyingma Tantras, compiled in
thirteenth century by Tertön Ratna Lingpa (1403-1473) and organised
by Kunkhyen Longchen Ramjampa (1308-1363). Besides this, numerous
works such as the sixty volumes of the Rinchen Terdzod compiled by
Kongtrul Yonten Gyatso (1813-1899) and the writings of Rongzom,
Dodrupchen, Paltrul, Mipham and many others have added to the rich
collection of Nyingma literature. The oldest Nyingma institution is
Samyey temple completed in 810 C.F. by Shantarakshita and Guru
Padmasambhava under the patronage of King Trisong Deutsan.
Subsequently, no big monasteries were built until the 12th century,
when Nechung Monastery was built in Central Tibet by Chokpa Jangchub
Palden and Kathok Monastery was founded in Kham by Ka Dampa Desheg
(1112-92) in 1159. This is an indication that unlike the other
Buddhist traditions the

Nyingmapas did not become institutionalised until much later in
their history. From the 15th century onwards, great monastic
universities were built, such as Mindroling, founded in 1676 by
Rigzin Terdag Lingpa, otherwise known as Minling Terchen Gyurmed
Dorje (1646-1714) and Dorje Drag founded in 1659 by Rigzin Ngagi
Wangpo in central Tibet; and Palyul established by Rigzin Kunsang
Sherab in 1665; Dzogchen built by Dzogchen Pema Rigzin in 1685 and
Zhechen established by Zhechen Rabjampa in 1735, all in Kham
province. Dodrupchen and Darthang monasteries were established in
Amdo.

Kagyu (bKa-rgyud)

"The lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism
derive primarily from two sources: Marpa Chökyi Lodoe (1012-1099)
and Khyungpo Nyaljor (978-1079). The former was trained as a
translator by Drogmi Yeshe (993-1050), and then travelled three
times to India and four times to Nepal in search of religious
teachings. He studied at the feet of one hundred and eight spiritual
masters and adepts, principally Naropa and Maitripa. Marpa received
the lineage of tantric teachings called the Four Commissioned
Lineages (bK'n-babs-bzhi) - concerning the Illusory Body and
Consciousness Transference, Dreams, Clear Light, and Inner Heat
directly from Naropa (1016-1100), who had been given them by his
teacher Tilopa (988-1069). Their original source was Buddha
Vajradhara.

Marpa brought these lineages to Tibet, passing them on
to his foremost disciple Milarepa (1040-1123), the most celebrated
and accomplished of Tibet's tantric yogis, who achieved the ultimate
goal of enlightenment in one lifetime. Milarepa was given
responsibility for his meditation lineage and others such as Ngog
Choku Dorjey, Tsurton Wangey and Meton Chenpo became holders of
Marpa's teaching lineage. This is how the dual system of
philosophical training (bShad-grva) and the meditation
training (sGub-grva) are found established in Kagyu
monasteries. Among Milarepa's disciples, Gampopa (1084-1161), also
known as Dagpo Lhaje and Rechungpa (1084-1161) were the most
illustrious. The former received the teaching and practice of the
Great Seal (Mahamudrn) and the Six Yogas of Naropa from
Milarepa and synthesised them into one lineage. The resultant
combined lineage came to be known as Dakpo Kagyu, the mother lineage
of the Kagyu tradition. Gampopa also pioneered a fusion of
Milarepa's Mahamudra tradition with the stages of the path tradition
of the Kadampa order. Gampopa's Jewel Ornaments of Liberation
is prominent amongst the stages of the path literature of Tibet. The
Kagyu Mahamudra lineage was later incorporated into the Gelug
tradition by the First Panchen Lama, Lobsang Chökyi Gyeltsen
(1570-1662) and is known as the Ganden-Kagyu Tradition of Mahamudra.

The Dakpo Kagyu tradition gave rise to four major schools founded
by illustrious disciples of Gampopa. These are the Tselpa (Tshal-pa)
Kagyu founded by Zhang Yudakpa Tsondu Dakpa (1123-1193), whose chief
teacher was Wangom Tsultrim Nyingpo. He founded the Gungthang
monastery and had many learned disciples. The Barom ('Ba-rom)
Kagyu was founded by Barom Darma Wangchuk. He built Barom monastery,
from which the tradition took its name. The Phagtru (`Phag-gru)
Kagyu was founded by Phagmo Trupa Dorje Gyelpo (1110-1170). He was
one of Gampopa's main disciples particularly noted for his
realisation and transmission of the Mahamudra teachings. Many of his
disciples attained high realisation, such as Taglung Thangpa, Kalden
Yeshi, Ling Repa Pema Dorjey, Jigten Gonpo and Kher Gompa. Phagmo
Trupa also built a monastery in the Phagmo locality which was later
called Densa Thil. Many sub-schools grew from his lineage of
disciples.

The Kamtsang or Karma Kagyu was founded by the first Karmapa,
Dusum Khyenpa (1110-1193). This tradition has remained strong and
successful due in large part to the presence of an unbroken line of
reincarnations of the founder, the successive Karmapas. Famous among
them were the Second Karmapa, Pakshi (1206-1282), the third Karmapa,
Ranjung Dorjey (1284-1339) and the Eighth, Karmapa Mikyo Dorjey
(1507-1554). The most recent incarnation was the Sixteenth Karmapa,
Ranjung Rigpe Dorjey (1924-81), who in exile was also appointed bead
of the whole Kagyu tradition. In Tibet, Tsurphu, located in Central
Tibet was the main monastery of this tradition. After coming into
exile, the tradition has re-established its headquarters and
principal monastic university at Rumtek in Sikkim. It has also
developed hundreds of centres throughout the world. In the present
absence of the Gyalwa Karmapa's incarnation four high lamas who were
his disciples are acting as regents. They are Shamar Rinpoche,
Gyaltsab Rinpochey, Situ Rinpochey and Jamgon Kongtrul Rinpochey.

Eight sub-school developed within the Phagdu Kagyu. The Drikung
('Brigung) Kagyu, founded by Drikung Kyopa Jigten Gonpo
(1143-1217) is presently headed by the 37th Successor, Drikung
Kyabgon Che-Tsang (b. 1946), who resides at his monastery in Ladakh.
The Taglung (sTag-lung) Kagyu, founded by Taglung Thangpa
Tashe Pel (1142-1210). The present head of this school is Shabdrung
Rinpochey, who now lives in Sikkim. The Drukpa('Brug pa)
Kagyu founded by Choje Gyare Yeshe Dorjey also known as Ling Repa
(1128-1189), is headed by the 12th Drukchen Rinpochey, who has
re-established his monastery in Darjeeling, India.

Among the eight sub-schools only these three survive to the
present day, with the Drukpa being numerically the largest, followed
by Drikung. Unfortunately other subsects of Kagyu tradition such as
Trophu (Khrophu) founded by Rinpochey Gyaltsa, a nephew of
Phagmo Trupa, who built Trophu monastery; Martsang (sMar-tsang)
founded by Marpa Rinchen Lodoe; Yelpa (Yel-pa) established by
Yelpa Yeshe Tseg; the Shungseb (Shugs-gseb) started by Chökyi
Sengey and Yamzang (gYa'abzang) Kagyu founded by Yeshi Senge
have ceased to exist, at least as separate institutions. Although a
few lamas of the other major Kagyu traditions may still maintain
some of their teaching lineages.

The Shangpa Kagyu, one of the two original forms of the Kagyu
tradition, was founded by the great adept, Khyungpo Nyaljor
(978-1079). Dissatisfied with his training in Bön and Dzogchen
practices, Khyungpo Nyaljor left for Nepal where he met Acharya
Sumati. From him he received training as a translator and travelled
on to India. After having received teachings from one hundred and
fifty scholar-adepts he is said to have mastered the entire exoteric
and esoteric doctrine as well as meditation on it. His principal
teachers include Sukhasiddha, Rahulagupta and Niguma, the consort of
Naropa. Besides receiving practical guidance from masters in human
form, he also received transmissions from the Dakinis (celestial
beings). After returning to Tibet, he received the vows of a monk
from the Kadampa master Langri Thangpa.

In accordance with the prophecies of the Dakinis, he established
the Shang-Shong monastery at Yeru Shang, in central Tibet. As a
result the tradition he founded came to be known as the Shangpa
Kagyu. Later, he is said to have established further branch
monasteries also. In early times, there were more than a hundred
monasteries belonging to this tradition in Tibet. Amongst his
followers, Mehu Tonpa, Mogchogpa and Shang Gomcho Sengey are some of
the most famous. Amongst the later lineage, it was Tsurton Wangi
Dorje, from whom Buton Rinchen Drup obtained the lineage of the
Guhyasamaja tantra which was subsequently passed down to Tsongkhapa.

The Shangpa Kagyu main practices concerned Mahakala,
Chakrasambhava, Hevajra, Mahamaya, Guhyasamaja, the Six Doctrines of
Niguma, Mahamudra, and others. The principal contemporary exponent
of this tradition was the late Kalu Rinpoche (1905-1989), one of the
leading Kagyu meditation masters of this century. It should be noted
that while there are many sub-schools within Kagyupas, the
fundamental principles of their doctrine are rooted in Mahamudra and
the Six Yogas of Naropa. The different schools have arisen only due
to slightly different individual approaches to the fundamental
teachings.

Mahamudra, the unique feature of Kagyu tradition, can be
explained according to interpretations of sutra and tantra. Both
aspects of the teachings are aimed at direct understanding of the
real nature of the mind. The approach to Mahamudra, which differs
slightly within each Kagyu school, generally follows through the
stages of foundation, path and fruit. Tantric practices unique to
Kagyu tradition are the Six Yogas of Naropa, Cakrasambhava and
Mahakala. In the context of tantric practice, the application of
Mahamudra becomes much more profound and sophisticated.

The training of monks in Kagyu monasteries consists mainly of the
study of the Perfection of Wisdom, Madhyamika, Valid Cognition,
Discipline and Phenomenology common to all traditions, except that
each tradition has its own monastic texts and commentaries to
facilitate understanding of the original Indian texts.

Sakya (Sa-skya)

"The Sakya tradition is closely bound up with the Khon
ancestral lineage, which derived from celestial beings. The lineage
has descended intact up to the present time from Khon Könchok
Gyelpo(1034-l 102), founder of the Sakya tradition.

From the
doctrinal point of view the tradition traces its origins to the
Indian Yogin Virupa through Gayadhara. His disciple Drogmi Shakya
Yeshe (992-1074) travelled to India where he received teachings on
the Kalachakra, the Path and its Fruit and others from many Indian
masters and returned to Tibet. Later, Khon Könchok Gyelpo, one of
his main disciples, built a monastery in the Tsang province of
central Tibet and named it Sakya, or Grey Earth monastery. So the
school took its name, Sakya, from the location of the monastery.
Khon Könchok Gyelpo's son Sachen Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158) was a
person of extraordinary skill and spiritual attainment, who held all
the lineages of tantra and sutra teachings of Arya Nagarjuna and
Virupa. He had four sons - Kungabar, Sonam Tsemo, Jetsun Dakpa
Gyeltsen and Palchen Rinpochey. The second son Sonam Tsemo (1142-82)
became a learned scholar at the early age of sixteen. He had visions
of many meditational deities and also produced many realised
disciples. Jetsun Dakpa Gyeltsen (1147-1216) received lay celibacy
vows and showed strong signs of spiritual maturity in his youth. At
the age of eleven he gave his first Hevajra teaching.

The principal disciple of Jetsun Dakpa Gyeltsen was his nephew,
son of Palchen of Öpochey the famous Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen
(1182-1251). Sakya Pandita studied Buddhist and non-Buddhist
philosophy, logic, Sanskrit, poetry, astrology and art with
countless Indian, Nepalese, Kashmiri and Tibetan masters and
achieved mastery over them. When he was twenty-seven years old,
after meeting with the Kashmiri Pandita Shakya Shribhadra, he became
a fully ordained monk and maintained his vows without least
infraction. His works such as the Treasury of Logic on Valid
Cognition (Tsod-ma rigs-gter) and the Discrimination of the Three
Vows (sDom-gsum rab-dbye) are famous even to this day.

In 1244, Godan Khan, grandson of Chingis Khan, intrigued by Sakya
Pandita's reputation, invited him to Mongolia, where he gave
Buddhist teachings. Later, in 1253, after both Sakya Pandita and
Godan Khan had passed away, the emperor, Sechen Kublai Khan invited
Drogön Chögyal Phagpa. nephew of Sakya Pandita to his court. Phagpa
invented a new script in which to write the Mongolian language.
Kublai Khan was so impressed by Phagpa's performance that he
declared Buddhism the state religion of Mongolia and presented him
the rule of the three provinces of Tibet. Thus, Phagpa was the first
person in Tibetan history to gain religious and secular authority
over the whole country. He was succeeded by his brother Chagna and
altogether the Sakyapas ruled Tibet for more than a hundred years.

Eventually, Tishri Kunglo (1299-1327), eldest of the fifteen
grandsons of Sakya Pandita's brother, founded four dynastic houses:
Zhithog, Rinchen Gang, Lhakhang and Ducho, of which only the last
two dynasties have survived. However, in fifteenth century the Ducho
dynasty split into two sub-dynasties, or palaces the Dolma Phodrang
and Phuntsok Phodrang. The present hierarchs of these two palaces
are Sakya Trizin.

Ngawang Kunga Theckchen Rinpochey (b. 1945). who is the current
head of the Sakya tradition, and lives in Dehra Dun, India and,
Dagchen Rinpochey (b. 1929), the founder of Sakya Thegchen Choling
in the United States of America. Succession to the position of head
of the Sakya tradition has been hereditary since the time of Khon
Könchok Gyelpo and traditionally alternates between the two palaces.
Sakya Dagtri Rinpochey, the present incumbent is the 4lst occupant
of the Sakya Throne.

Amongst the principal holders of the Sakya tradition, Sachen
Kunga Nyingpo (1092-1158), Sonam Tsemo (1142-1182), Dakpa Gyeltsen
(1147-1216), Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyeltsen (1182-1251) and Drogön
Chögyal Phagpa (1235-1280) are known as the Five Patriarchs of the
Sakya tradition. After them, were the so called Six Ornaments of
Tibet: Yaktuk Sangyey Pal and Rongton Mawe Sengey, who were reputed
for their authority on sutra teachings; Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo and
Zongpa Kunga Namgyel, who were learned in the tantras; Goram Sonam
Sengey and Shakya Chogden who were learned in both sutras and
tantras. These were famous spiritual masters of Sakya tradition.
Amongst them Gorampa Sonam Sengey, instituted the formal study of
logic in Sakya tradition.

Like other traditions of Tibetan Buddhism, a number of
sub-divisions emerged within the main Sakya tradition. The lineage
of teachings within the discipline instituted by Ngorchen Kunga
Zangpo (1382-1457) and successive masters such as Könchok Lhundrup,
Thartse Namkha Pelsang and Drubkhang Pelden Dhondup have come to be
known as the Ngor lineage, whereas, the lineages of Tsarchen Losel
Gyatso (1502-56), called the whispered-lineage of Tsar, concerning
the Thirteen Golden Texts of Tsar, including the secret doctrines of
the greater or lesser Mahakala, Vajra Yogini, Jambhala and others,
is known as the Tsar tradition. Thus, the Sakya school of the Khon
lineage represents the main trunk of a tree, of which the Ngorpa and
Tsarpa schools are branches. These are, the three schools (Sa-Ngor-Tsar-gsum)
in Sakya tradition.

The central teaching and practice of the Sakyapa, called Lamdrey
(Lam-'bras), the Path and Its Fruit, ultimately leads a
practitioner to the state of Hevajra. The Path and Its Fruit is a
synthesis of the entire paths and fruits of both the exoteric and
esoteric classes of teachings. The Path and Its Fruit teaching
originating from the Indian teachers Virupa, Avadhuti, Gayadhara and
Shakyamitra, a follower of Arya Nagarjuna, were brought to Tibet by
the Tibetan translator Drogmi and have been passed down through an
unbroken lineage of masters until today. During the time Muchen
Sempa Chenpo Könchok Gyeltsen, a disciple of Ngorchen Kunga Zangpo
(1382-1457), the Path and Its Fruit transmission broke into two
sub-traditions: the Explanation for Private Disciples (sLob-bshad)
and for Assemblies (Tshog-bshad) traditions. The
philosophical viewpoint expressed in the Path and Its Fruit is the
inseparability of samsara and nirvana. According to this, an
individual cannot attain nirvana or peace by abandoning samsara or
cyclic existence, because the mind is the root of both samsara and
nirvana. When obscured, it takes the form of samsara and when freed
of obstructions it is nirvana. Hence, the reality is that a person
must strive through meditation to realise their inseparability.

In the Sakya monastic universities eighteen major texts are
thoroughly studied. These deal with the Perfection of Wisdom,
Monastic Discipline, Middle Path View, Phenomenology, Logic and
Epistemology, as well as commentaries unique to the tradition, such
as the Discrimination of the Three Vows, the Treasury of Logic on
Valid Cognition and the works of Gorampa Sonam Sengey and others.
On graduation, a monk is granted the degree of Kazhipa, Kachupa and
Rabjampa on the basis of merit. The main tantric practices of the
Sakya school are the Hevajra and Chakrasambhara tantras, Mahakala
and so forth.

The major Sakya monasteries in Tibet were Nalanda in Phenpo built
by Rongton Sheja Kunrig, Lhakhang Chenmo, founded by Khon Könchok
Gyelpo, Tsedong Sisum Namgyel, established by Namkha Tashi Gyeltsen
and Ngor E-Vam Chodhen, founded by E-Vam Kunga Zangpo in Central
Tibet; Dhondup Ling, founded by Dagchen Sherab Gyeltsen and Lhundup
Teng founded by Thangtong Gyalpo in Kham; and Deur Chode built by
Chodak Sangpo in Amdo. Presently, Tsechen Tenpai Gatsal in Rajpur,
Uttar Pradesh; Ngor E-Vam Shadrup Dargye Ling in Bir, Himachal
Pradesh, Tsechen Dhongag Choeling in Mundgod, Karnataka State, and
Ngor E-Vam Chodhen in Dehradun, Uttar Pradesh in India as well as
Tashi Rabten Ling at Lumbini in Nepal are some of the principal
re-established monasteries of the Sakya tradition."

Geluk (དགེ་ལུགས་པ་,
dGe-lugs-pa)

"The Kadampa tradition founded by Atisha was the direct source
of inspiration for the development of the Gelug tradition
founded by Je Tsongkhapa (1357-1419). He was born in the Tsongkha
region of Amdo province. At the age of three he received
full-fledged lay ordination from the Fourth Karmapa, Rolpey Dorjey,
and the name Kunga Nyingpo. At the age of seven he received novice
vows from his teacher, Chöjey Dhondup Rinchen, and was given the
name Lobsang Drakpa. Even at this young age he had received many
teachings and initiations of Heruka, Yamantaka and Hevajra, and
could recite by heart texts like Expression of the Names of
Manjushri.

Tsongkhapa travelled extensively in search of
knowledge and studied with masters of all the existing traditions
beginning with Chennga Chökyi Gyelpo, from whom he received
teachings on topics such as the mind of enlightenment and the Great
Seal (Mahamudra). He was taught the medical treatises by Könchok
Kyab at Drikung. In Nyethang Dewachen he studied the Ornaments
for clear Realisation and the Perfection of Wisdom and,
excelling in debate, he became famous for his erudition. He also
travelled to Sakya where he studied monastic discipline,
phenomenology, valid cognition, the Middle Way and Guhyasamaja with
lamas such as Kazhipa Losel and Rendawa. He also received
transmissions of the Six Doctrines of Naropa. the Kalachakra.
Mahamudra, the Path and Its Fruit, Chakrasamvara and numerous others
and transmitted them to his disciples.

In addition to his studies and teachings he engaged in extensive
meditation retreats. The longest, at Wolkha Cholung, lasted four
years during which he was accompanied by eight close disciples. He
is reputed to have performed millions of prostration's, mandala
offerings and other forms of purification practice. Tsongkhapa
frequently had visions of meditational deities and especially of
Manjushri, with whom he could communicate to settle his questions
about profound aspects of the teachings.

Tsongkhapa studied with more than a hundred teachers, practised
extensively and taught thousands of disciples mainly in the central
and eastern regions of Tibet. In addition he wrote a great deal. His
collected works, comprising eighteen volumes, contain hundred of
titles relating to all aspects of Buddhist teachings and clarify
some of the most difficult topics of sutrayana and mantrayana
teachings. Major works among them are: the Great Exposition of
the Stages of the Path (Lam-rim chen-mo), the Great Exposition of
Tantras (sNgag-rim chenmo), the Essence of Eloquence on the
Interpretive and Definitive Teachings (Drnng-nges legs-bshad
snying-po), the Praise of Relativity (rTen-'brel bstodpa), the Clear
Exposition of the Five Stages of Guhyasamaja (gSang-'dus rim-lnga
gsal-sgron) and the Golden Rosary (gSer-phreng).Among his many
main disciples, Gyeltsab Dharma Rinchen (1364-1432), Khedrub Geleg
Pelsang (1385-1438), Gyalwa Gendun Drup (1391-1474), Jamyang Chöjey
Tashi Pelden (1379-1449), Jamchen Chöjey Shakya Yeshe, Jey Sherab
Sengey and Kunga Dhondup (1354-143S) arc some of the more
significant.

Tsongkhapa finally passed away at the age of sixty on the
twenty-fifth of the tenth Tibetan month, entrusting his throne in
Ganden to Gyeltsabjey. So began a tradition which continues to the
present day. The ninety-ninth successor to the Ganden throne, and
thus the formal head of the Gelugpa, is Ven. Yeshi Dhondup.

Of the major Gelugpa monasteries in Tibet, Ganden Monastery was
founded by Tsongkhapa himself in 1409 and was divided into two
colleges, Shartsey and Jangtsey. Jamyang Chöje Tashi Pelden founded
Drepung Monastery in 1416. At one time it had seven branches but
these were later amalgated into four Loseling, Gomang, Deyang and
Ngagpa. Of the, only two college. Drepung and Gomang have survived
up to the present time. Another of Tsongkhapa's spiritual sons,
Jamchen Chöjey Shakya Yeshi established Sera Monastery in 1419. This
too initially had five colleges which were later amalgated into
two-Sera-Jey and Sera-Mey. Similarly, Gyalwa Gendun Drup, the First
Dalai Lama, founded Tashi Lhunpo Monastery at Shigatse in 1447,
which was to become the seat of the successive Panchen Lamas. It
originally had four colleges.

The Lower Tantric College, Gyumey, was established by Jey Sherab
Sengey in 1440, and the Upper Tantric College Gyutö by Gyuchen Kunga
Dhondup in 1474. At their peak there were more than five thousand
monks in each of the monastic universities around Lhasa, Ganden,
Drepung and Sera, while there were at least five hundred in each
tantric college. Young men would travel from all three regions of
Tibet to enroll at these monastic universities as monks in order to
receive an education and spiritual training. The Gelug tradition
lays special emphasis on the place of ethics, as expressed through
monastic discipline, as the ideal basis for religious education and
practice. Consequently, the great majority of Gelugpa lamas are
monks and the master who is a layman is a rarity. In addition, the
Gelug tradition regards sound scholarship as a prerequisite for
constructive meditation, hence, the teachings of both sutra and
tantra are subject to rigorous analysis through the medium of
dialectical debate.

In general, the curriculum of study covers the five major
topics-the perfection of wisdom, philosophy of the Middle Way, valid
cognition, phenomenology and monastic discipline. These five are
studied meticulously by the dialectical method using Indian texts as
well as Indian and Tibetan commentaries to them, often textbooks
unique to each monastic tradition, for a period of fifteen to twenty
years. On completing this training, a monk is awarded one of three
levels of the degree of Geshey (Doctorate of Buddhist Philosophy),
Dorampa, Tsogrampa and Lharampa, of which the highest is the Geshey
Lharampa degree.

Subsequently, if he so wishes the Geshey may join one of the
tantric colleges to study the tantras and so complete his formal
studies, or he may return to his local monastery to teach, or retire
into seclusion to engage in intensive meditation. A monk who has
completed a Geshey's training is respected as being a fully
qualified and authoritative spiritual master worthy of devotion and
esteem.

This tradition remains dynamic even after coming into exile. The
major Gelug monasteries, Sera, Drepung, Ganden, and Tashi Lhunpo
monasteries and Gyumey Tantric College have been re-established in
various Tibetan settlements in Karnataka, and Gyutö Tantric College
has been re-established in Bomdila, Arunachal Pradesh, all in India."

Jonang

"The Jonang or Jonangpa school of
Tibetan Buddhism was founded in the early 14th
century by
Sherab Gyeltsen, a monk trained in the Sakyapa school. The Jonangpa school was
widely thought to have become extinct in the late 17th
century at the hands of the
Fifth Dalai Lama who forcibly annexed the Jonangpa monasteries to his Gelugpa
school. Recently, however, researchers were surprised to discover
that some remote Jonangpa monasteries escaped this fate and have
continued practicing uninterrupted to this day. As many as 5000
monks may be members of the remnant Jonangpa school practicing in
areas at the edge of historic Gelugpa influence.

History of the Jonangpa

In the early 14th
century the monk Sherab Gyeltsen broke away from the Sakyapa school and
established the Jonangpa school at Jonang, about 160 km northwest of
the
Tashilhunpo monastery in Shigatse. There, the Jonangpa built a large monastery
and constructed a
printing press.

The Jonangpa school had generated a number of renowned Buddhist
scholars, the greatest of whom was
Taranatha (1575-1634). Taranatha placed great emphasis on the Kalachakra system
of tantra which became an important part of Gelugpa teaching after
the Gelugpa absorbed the Jonangpa monasteries. Taranatha's influence
on Gelugpa thinking continues even to this day in the teaching of
the present
14th Dalai Lama who actively promotes initiation into Kalachakra.

After several centuries of independence, however, in the late 17th
century the Jonangpa order came under the attack by the Great
Fifth Dalai Lama who forcibly converted their monasteries to the Gelugpa order.

Stated reason for Jonangpa suppression: the Shentong heresy

While the Gelugpa embraced the Jonangpa teaching on the Kalachakra,
they ultimately opposed the Jonangpa for another set of teachings.
Sherab Gyeltsen, the founder of the Jonangpa, and subsequent lamas
had developed a teaching known as Shentong, which is closely
tied to the
Indian Yogacara school and held that the external world is completely empty The
Gelugpa school held the distinct but related Rangtong view.
The Jonangpa interpreted Shentong to imply that there is a value in
inaction and non-striving, which is associated with the teachings of
medieval Chan
Buddhism in China (which also gave rise to Zen Buddhism in Japan). This
association with Chinese Buddhism tainted the Jonangpa in the eyes
of the Gelugpa who considered the true teachings to derive from the Indian
saints, particularly Atisha. An additional motivation in criticizing
the Jonangpa sect as Zen-followers was that it enabled the Gelugpa
to lay claim to the high moral ground previously held only by the
rival Nyingmapa sect who were proud of their ancient and unsullied
transmission from the Indian saints (and not being sullied by later
transmissions as were the Sakyapa, Kagyupa, and Gelugpa).

Modern historians have identified two other reasons which likely led
the Gelugpa to suppress the Jonangpa:

First, the Jonangpa taught that large gifts of property to
monasteries did not help one achieve enlightenment. This undercut
the financial practices of the Gelugpa who were growing rapidly
through exactly those means at the time.

Second, and more significantly, the Jonangpa had political ties
that were very vexing to the Gelugpa. The Jonangpa, along with the Kagyupa,
were historical allies with the powerful house of Tsang which was
vying with the Dalai Lama and his Gelugpa school for control of
central Tibet. This was bad enough, but soon after the death of
Taranatha an even more ominous event occurred: Taranatha's
reincarnation was discovered to be a young boy named Zanabazar the
son of Prince
Tosiyetu Khan, ruler of the
Khan Uula district of
Outer Mongolia. Tosiyetu and his son were of Khalkha lineage, meaning they had
the birth authority to become Khan. When the young boy was declared
the spiritual leader of all of Mongolia, suddenly the Gelugpa were
faced with the possibility of war with the former military superpower
of Asia. While the
Mongol Empire was long passed its zenith, this was nonetheless a frightening
prospect and the Dalai Lama sought the first possible moment of
Mongol distraction to take control of the Jonangpa monasteries.

Current status and rediscovery by the outside world

In
accordance with the observation that "victors write history" the
Jonangpa were until recently thought to be an extinct heretical sect.
Thus,
Tibetologists were astonished when fieldwork turned up several active Jonangpa
monasteries, including the main monastery called
Tsangwa located in
Dzamthang County, Sichuan, China. Almost 40 monasteries, comprising about 5000
monks, have been subsequently been found, including some in the Amdo
and
Gyarong districts of Qinghai and the
Tibet Autonomous Region. Presumably these remnant survived because they were far
from the Gelugpa capital at Lhasa and closer to sympathetic powers
in Qing
Dynasty China.

Interestingly, one of the primary supporters of the Jonang
lineage in exile has been the
14th Dalai Lama of the Gelugpa. The Dalai Lama donated buildings in
Himachal Pradesh state in India for use as a Jonang monastery and has visited
there during one of His recent teaching tours. The Karmapa of the
Karma Kagyu lineage has visited there as well."

Rimé (Ris-Med)

"The Rimé movement (Wylie: Ris-Med) is a Buddhist school
of thought founded in Eastern Tibet during the late 19th
century largely by
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and
Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, the latter of whom is often respected as the
founder proper. It seeks to unify the various traditions and their
philosophies into one coherent school of thought, and is responsible
for a large number of scriptural compilations.

The school's name
is derived from two
Tibetan words: Ris (sectarianism) and Med (refutation), which
combined expresses the idea of unification, as opposed to
sectarianism. The Rimé movement therefore is often mistaken as
trying to unite the various sects through their similarities, which
was not the case. Rather, Rimé was designed to recognise the
differences between traditions and appreciate them, while also
establishing a dialogue which would create common ground. It is
considered important that variety be preserved, and therefore Rimé
teachers are generally quite careful to emphasise differences in
thought, giving students many options as to how to proceed in their
spiritual training.

Students who associate with Rimé do not leave their old
traditions, but rather continue practising as their regular
tradition would ascribe. Two of the founding voices of Rimé were
Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo and Jamgon Kongtrul Lodro Thaye, both from
different schools. Thaye was from the Nyingma and Kagyu traditions,
while Wangpo had been raised within the Sakya order. At the time,
Tibetan schools of thought had become very isolated, and both Wangpo
and Thaye were instrumental in reinitiating dialogue between the
sects. Rimé was, to some extent, the re-establishment of a fading
rule in Tibetan Buddhism: That to ignorantly criticise other
traditions was wrong, and that misunderstandings due to ignorance
had to be immediately alleviated.

Rimé is not a spiritual lineage, but rather a
philosophical movement which seeks to establish, preserve, and cultivate
dialogue between varying traditions, appreciating their differences
and emphasising the need for variety. It was initially created to
counteract the growing suspicion and tension building between the
different traditions, which at the time had, in many places, gone so
far as to forbid studying one another's scriptures. Rimé became
thereafter an integral part of the Tibetan tradition, and continues
to be an important school of philosophy in Tibetan Buddhism.

Khunu Lama Tenzin Gyatso and
Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche are two recent Rimé masters, known for their public
influence and as being advisors to the
14th Dalai Lama. Other modern adherents include the late
16th Karmapa and
Dudjom Rinpoche, both of whom gave extensive teachings from the works of Jamgon
Kongtrul Lodro, as well as the late
Akong Rinpoche who, with
Chogyam Trungpa helped establish Tibetan Buddhism in Britain. The lineage of the
late Nyoshul Khenpo Rinpoche, also a venerable master of the rimé tradition, is
represented today in the teachings of
Lama Surya Das."

Chronik

1927

Abb.: Lama Kazi Dawa-Samdup und W. Y. Evans-Wentz

Es erscheint:

The Tibetan book of the dead; or, The
after-death experiences on the Bardo plane, according to Lama Kazi
Dawa-Samdup's [Zla-ba-bsam-'grub, Kazi, 1868-1922] English rendering, by
W. Y. Evans-Wentz. With foreword by Sir John Woodroffe. -- London :
Oxford university press, 1927. -- xliv, 248 S. : Ill. ; 23
cm.

"Evans-Wentz, Dr Walter Yeeling
(1878-1965)

Pioneer translator of Tibetan
Buddhist texts. Born USA, educated University of Stanford, Oxford and Rennes,
specializing in folk-lore; met W.B. Yeats. 1911: 1st book: Fairy Faith in Celtic
Countries. An interest in the rebirth doctrine took him to East. 1919: met Kazi
Dawa-Samdup in Sikkim; collaborated on translations of several texts, including
The Tibetan Book of the Dead, The Tibetan Book of the Great Liberation, Tibetan
Yoga and Secret Doctrines and Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa. Died near Encinitas,
California at age 88 years. "

Walter Evans-Wentz didn't speak Tibetan and he never translated
anything, but he was known as an eminent translator of important
Tibetan texts, especially a 1927 edition of The Tibetan Book of the
Dead, which was for many Westerners the first book on Tibetan
Buddhism that they took seriously. "He didn't claim to be a
translator in his books," says Roger Corless, Professor of Religion
at Duke University, "but he didn't mind leaving the impression that
he was."

Like many figures who played important roles in bringing Buddhism to
the West, Evans-Wentz didn't call himself a Buddhist, and he seems
to have stumbled almost accidentally upon the texts he eventually
published. With his naive sincerity flowery rhetoric, lofty vision,
and messianic tone, he might be taken today for a proto—New Age
crank. Nonetheless, he became a highly respected scholar. He even
projected a vaguely British affect in his writings, signing his
books "W Y. Evans-Wentz, MA, D.Litt; D.Sc. Jesus College, Oxford."
But Evans-Wentz spent comparatively little time at Oxford and
actually grew up before the mm of the century in Trenton, New
Jersey.

The man who would later praise the hermit ideal was a dreamy, lonely
youth who liked to spend his afternoons lazing beside the Delaware
River, sometimes without his clothes. On one of those afternoons he
had an "ecstatic-like vision," and remained "haunted" by the
conviction that "this [was] not the first time that I [had]
possessed a human body," but now "there came flashing into my mind
with such authority that I never thought of doubting it, a
mind-picture of things past and to come.... I knew from that night
my life was to be that of a world pilgrim, wandering from country to
country, over seas, across continents and mountains, through deserts
to the end of the earth, seeking, seeking for 1 knew not what."

Evans-Wentz did become a pilgrim, wandering through Egypt, India,
Sikkim, China, and Japan. He was particularly mobile between the two
world wars, when he worked on The Tibetan Book of the Dead.

Throughout his life, he kept diaries and he made extensive notes for
an autobiography that served as a source for Ken Winkler's brief
1982 biography Pilgrim of the Clear Light. He also made substantial
reference to himself in his books, especially in the long
introductions in which he supplied background material. But there
remains something essentially mysterious about the man. He wore his
spiritual heart on his sleeve, but other parts he kept concealed.

Evans-Wentz had two brothers and two sisters, but was a solitary
child. His father was of German descent, a businessman who had a
problem with alcohol. His Irish mother may have inspired his early
scholarly interests (his first book, written at Oxford, was called
The Fairy Faith in Celtic Countries).

Walter was raised a Baptist, but as he grew older the family began
to embrace the ideas of spiritualists and freethinkers. He had a
particular interest in the occult and was much taken with the work
of Madame Blavatsky, founder of the Theosophical Society. It was
because Blavatsky claimed to have been inspired by lamas in Tibet
that he first became interested in that remote Himalayan culture.
Indeed, much of his work comes into focus in light of his interest
in the Theosophists. He shared their visionary, exalted tone ("Over
the bosom of the Earth-Mother, in pulsating vibrations, radiant and
energizing, flows the perennial Stream of Life," he wrote in one
introduction). He saw truth in all religions but held a lifelong
grudge against Christianity, which he regarded as small-minded and
petty. Reincarnation is the single thread that runs through all his
work: insisting that Gnostic Christians had believed in rebirth, he
could not understand why the mainstream faith had abandoned this
doctrine.

Evans-Wentz had a fickle relationship to capitalism. The idea of an
ascetic life attracted him, especially after he had visited the
East, and he disliked any show of wealth or bourgeois comfort. But
he followed his father into the real estate business and was
remarkably successful, making substantial sums in "quick sales,
mortgages, and land transfers." He would continue to deal in real
estate all his life, and apparently funded himself with the profits.

He didn't get around to formal education until his mid-twenties.

He had followed his father to San Diego, partly because he was
interested in Loma Land, the American headquarters of the
Theosophical Society, and he enrolled at Stanford University at the
age of twenty-four as a "special entrant." By the time he applied to
Jesus College at Oxford in 1907, at the age of twenty-nine, he had
earned both bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford. At Oxford
he pursued his interest in "fairy faith," traveling through Wales,
Scotland, Ireland, Cornwall, Brittany, and the Isle of Man,
collecting stories about pixies, fairies, and goblins.

By 1916, Evans-Wentz had a monthly income of $ 1,600 from his
investments, a princely sum in those days. He visited two poets in
Ireland, George William Russell and William Butler Yeats, both of
whom had an interest in his work and in Theosophy; then he began his
wider travels, heading first for Egypt, where he remained for 29
months. Roger Corless speculates that it was Evans-Wentz's probable
knowledge of E. Wallace Budge's translation of The Egyptian Boole of
the Dead that left us with the inaccurate title The Tibetan Book of
the Dead. (A more literal translation would be The Book of
Liberation by Hearing in the Intermediate States.)

From Egypt he moved on to Ceylon and then to India, where he mingled
with the prominent Theosophist community there. Until then, he had
taken an occultist's interest in varieties of faith, not a
practitioner's. But now he was in the land that had inspired Madame
Blavatsky, and he began to wander in the foothills of the Himalayas,
encountering the spiritual teachers about whom he would write in his
books.

In Darjeeling, Evans-Wentz met the headmaster of a boys' school in
Gangtok, Sikkim, named Dawa-Samdup. Dawa-Samdup had acted as an
interpreter to the British government in Sikkim and was working on a
Tibetan-English dictionary. But apparently he wasn't much of a
headmaster. He was "cursed by the demon drink," according to the
Winkler biography, and would wander away from the school for days at
a time, neglecting his students while he "contemplated on
metaphysical planes."

But Dawa-Samdup was devoted to his work as a translator. During his
travels, Evans-Wentz had bought various sacred manuscripts; Kazi
Dawa-Samdup possessed others. The two men would get together in the
early mornings to pore over these texts, with Kazi Dawa-Samdup doing
the actual translating and Evans-Wentz acting as his "living
dictionary." According to Rick Fields in How the Swans Came to the
Lake, Evans-Wentz was "unable to refrain completely from seeing
Tibetan Buddhism through the lens of the comparative religion and
folklore in which he had trained at Oxford," and "his version
contained certain inaccuracies: the diction, for example, with all
its 'ye's' and 'thou's,' suffered from biblical rhetoric, and
Evans-Wentz had failed to adequately distinguish between Hindu and
Buddhist terminology."

Yet Fields also acknowledges the vast influence this text had in
introducing Tibetan Buddhism to the West. Three years before its
publication, scholar J. B. Pratt had said that Tibetan Buddhism was
"so mixed with non-Buddhist elements that I hesitate to call it
Buddhism at all." But Evans-Wentz saw Tibetan Buddhism not as a
corrupted but as a more elaborate and advanced form of Buddhism; not
"in disagreement with canonical, or exoteric, Buddhism, but related
to it as higher mathematics is to lower mathematics, or as the apex
of the pyramid of the whole of Buddhism." Fields calls this insight
Evans-Wentz's greatest achievement.

In 1922, just three years after the two men had begun to collaborate,
Kazi Dawa-Samdup died. Evans-Wentz had become more serious about
spiritual practice during this period, living in a grass shack and
struggling, he later wrote, to "gain some actual insight into the
actual practice of yoga." He considered himself Kazi Dawa-Samdup's
disciple, though there is no evidence that the Tibetan saw himself
as the guru. Evans-Wentz loved practicing in rural India and
considered it a sacred space, a concept he continued to develop
through the years. "All holy places," he wrote in The Theosophical
Forum in 1942, "in varying degrees have been made holy by that same
occult power of mind to enhance the psychic character of the atom of
matter; they are the ripened fruit of spirituality, the proof of
thought's all-conquering and all-transforming supremacy."

The period between Kazi Dawa-Samdup's death and the outbreak of
World War II was one of almost frantic activity for Evans-Wentz. He
traveled among the three places that had meant the most to him:
India, England, and California. And he continued to work as a "compiler
and editor" of the texts his teacher had translated, following The
Book of the Dead with Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa in 1928. The
earlier book had set out what Evans-Wentz called "the art of knowing
how to die"; the latter he described as setting out "the art of
mastering life."

He followed Milarepa in 1935 with what he regarded as the third book
of a trilogy, Tibetan Yoga and Secret Doctrine, convinced that "it
is only when the West understands the East and the East the West
that a culture worthy of the name of civilization will be evolved."
His work by that time had taken on a decidedly anti-Western tone. He
believed not just in the texts he had discovered, but in the way of
life he had found.

And then Evans-Wentz's life took a turn that seems both utterly
bizarre and entirely characteristic: At the outbreak of World War
II, the world traveler and renowned scholar fled to a small room in
the Keystone Hotel in San Diego, where he lived out the last
twenty-three years of his life. He chose the Keystone because it was
near the city's only vegetarian restaurant—the House of Nutrition—and
near the public library, where he sometimes checked out his own
books because he had given all of his copies away. He also had
discovered his own sacred space, Mount Cuchama, a few miles away
near the Mexican border. Like the real estate speculator he had been
all his life, he bought up as much of it as he could. He owned a
small house on his land, and went there sometimes to practice "the
Dharma, the Buddhist 'way of truth.'"

In one of his book introductions, he praised what he called the "hermit
ideal," men who lived the "rigors of the snowy Himalayas, clad only
in a thin cotton garment, subsisting on a daily handful of parched
barley." Evans-Wentz had really been a hermit all his life, and with
his threadbare clothing and spartan diet, he continued to live that
way in San Diego.

"I am haunted by a realization of the illusion of all human
endeavors," he wrote in a late diary. "As Milarepa taught: buildings
end in ruin, meetings in separation, accumulation in dispersion and
life in death. Whether it is better to go on here in California
where I am lost in the midst of the busy multitude or return to the
Himalayas is now a question difficult to answer correctly." But
Evans-Wentz did finally answer it. He had found his sacred mountain,
after all, and the spiritual practice he'd spent much of his life "searching,
searching" for. He had no more reason to wander. "

1937

Abb.: DVD-Titel

"Lost Horizon is a 1937 film in which a group of
travelers find a utopian society in the Himalayan mountains. The
film is based upon the James
Hilton novel
of the same name. It stars
Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt,
John Howard, Margo,
Thomas Mitchell,
Edward Everett Horton,
Isabel Jewell, H.B.
Warner, and
Sam Jaffe.

The film was adapted by
Sidney Buchman (uncredited) and
Robert Riskin, and directed by Frank
Capra. The
Streamline Moderne sets were by
Stephen Goosson.

It was remade as a musical in 1973, in which Shangri-La was
strangely reminiscient of
Gilligan's Island."

"Dr. Grimes's career as a spiritual teacher is not
limited to his claim to be the Panchen Lama, however. In 1973, when
he was 37, he founded the Pansophic Institute (renamed the
Institute of Theosophy in 1990) in Reno, Nevada. Its aim was to
foster dialogue between religious leaders, and, more specifically,
to help establish Tibetan Buddhism in the West. One of its branches
was in Ghana. Encouraged by the several thousand members that the
Institute had in that country, of whom the most significant was
undoubtedly the head of state in the mid-1970s. General Acheampong,
Dr. Grimes tried to establish a Ghanaian Buddhism. He was invited to
Ghana as a guest of the government in 1975 and performed a number of
spiritual functions: meditation classes for members of the
government; energizing power centres as future focuses of
enlightenment; spiritual healing; combating practitioners of the
black arts. How successful he was in any of these, I do not know—but
the whole venture was certainly unusual."

"move across Tibet and…observe the
attitudes of the people of Tibet; to seek allies and discover enemies;
locate strategic targets and survey the territory as a possible field
for future activity."

"The first United States mission to Tibet, in 1942, a
reconnaissance mission sent by the
OSS to scout out a possible route to southern China during World War II was
headed by Captain Ilya Tolstoy, a grandson of the novelist. He was
accompanied by Lieutenant Brooke Dolan II who had previously engaged
in extensive naturalistic explorations in Tibet. In Lhasa they were
granted an audience with the Dalai Lama, then only 7 years old. A
letter from Franklin Roosevelt was delivered which was carefully
phrased as being addressed to the Dalai Lama as a religious leader
but not as the ruler of Tibet. Gifts were given to the Dalai Lama
and gifts were received from the Tibetan cabinet, the Kashag.
Tolstoy remained for three months but did not attempt to raise the
question of transhipment of supplies to China as he could see the
unfavorable attitude of the Tibetans. In early 1943 Tolstoy
continued into China arriving at
Lanzhou in June, 1943.

The notion of building a road or attempting to supply
China through Tibet was abandoned but as a result of the relations
which were established a wool import quota was granted to Padatsang,
a Tibetan merchant from Kham who had aided the mission, and promised
radio equipment was delivered to Lhasa, 3 transmitters and 6
receivers. While in Tibet Tolstoy and the British resident had
raised the possibility that Tibet might participate in post-war
conferences. This never came to fruition as both Britain and the
United States in consideration of their relations with China
eventually took the position that Tibet was not a sovereign country."

1947

Tibet sendet eine Handelsdelegation in die
USA

"In 1947 the Tibetan foreign office began planning a trade
delegation to visit India, China, the United States and Britain.
Initial overtures were made to the US embassy in India requesting
meetings with President Truman and other US officials to discuss
trade. This request was forwarded to Washington but the
State Department proved willing only to meet with the Tibetans on an informal
basis. The delegation consisted of 4 persons, Tsipon Shakabpa,
Tibet's chief financial officer, Padatsang and two others including
a monk.

Armed with the first Tibetan passports the delegation went
first to New Dehli meeting with
Prime Minister Nehru and
Mahatma Gandhi. Most foreign trade from Tibet passed through India and it was
the practice of the Indian government to convert any foreign
currencies received into rupees before payment to Tibet. The
Tibetans were unable to negotiate any change in this practice which
would have put
hard currency into their hands. One of the goals of the trade delegation was to
obtain gold or other solid backing for Tibetan currency.

It was the Chinese position that a Chinese passport was required.
These were issued and the delegation entered China at Hong Kong
using them and spend 3 months in China. For the next leg of the
journey to the United States and Britain the Chinese took the
position that they would only issue exit visas on the Chinese
passports. However the Tibets managed to get a British consular
officer in Nanking to issue a British visa on their Tibetan
passports and again a US officer in Hong Kong thus defeating the
efforts of the US State Department and the British Foreign Office to
deny use of the Tibetan passports, a small victory for the
supposedly unsophisticated Tibetans.

The delegation arrived in San Francisco in July, 1948 where they
were met by the British Consul. They traveled by train to Washington
where despite strong objections by the Chinese and reassurance that
the United States recognized China's de jure sovereignty over
Tibet the Tibetans were received by the Secretary of State,
George Marshall. There was some language in the State Department's negotiations
with the Chinese which noted that they exerted no de facto control
over Tibet and noted the traditional American principle of favoring
self-determination but no more definite statement was made regarding
Tibetan sovereignty.

They requested aid from the United States in convincing India to
free up their hard currency earning and also for permission to
purchase gold from the United States for a currency reserve. They
received no help on their problem with India but were given
permission to purchase up to 50,000 ounces of gold.

Not meeting with President Truman they proceeded on to New York
where they were greeted by their old friend, Ilya Tolstoy, who
introduced them around. They met with
Lowell Thomas who was interested in visiting Tibet and Dwight Eisenhower, then
president of Columbia University and other eastern establishment
personalities as well as Prince Peter of Greece and Denmark who had
an interest in Tibet.

In November the delegation set sail for Britain where they spent
3 weeks but were received coolly. Returning though India they were
able to free up some foreign exchange for the purchase of gold and
adding money of their own effected a purchase of $425,800 in gold
which was transported to Tibet by pack animals.

Being received more warmly in the United States than in Britain
with whom they had a long established relationship set the stage for
later expansion of the relationship with the United States as they
attempted to deal with later Chinese efforts to reassert effective
control."

1951

Die USA nehmen 800 Kalmükische Flüchtlinge
auf

"In late 1951, the United States accepted
800 Kalmyk Mongolians who had been languishing in refugee camps since the end of
World War II. These refugees were drawn from two waves that had fled the Soviet
Union during the preceding decades. The first had departed Kalmykia shortly
after the Bolshevik revolution; the second left in late 1943 after Joseph Stalin
adopted a ruthless line against minorities and started deporting the Mongolians
to Siberia aboard cattle cars. Once in the United States, the older wave of
emigres settled around Philadelphia. The newer ones -- no more than seventy
families -- established a small but vibrant community near Freewood Acres, New
Jersey. "

"Geshe Wangyal was born in 1901, among the Kalmyk
Mongols
, in what is today the Kalmyk republic in Russian Federation. He
became a monk at a very young age of six and as a young man, he went
to study in Lhasa, Tibet, just after the Bolshevik revolution was
started.

He studied at the Gomang College of Drepung Monastic University
in Lhasa until 1935 when he decided to return to Klmykia to arrange
some financial matters. On his way in Pekin, he was told of the
seriousness of situation in Russia under the communism. Therefore he
gave up his plan to go back to Klamykia, and instead found a job in
Pekin. He worked on a Kanjur and Tanjur project, and was getting
well-paid. After earning enough money which could support him until
he receives his geshe degree, in 1937, he left Pekin to return to
Tibet via India. While in Calcutta (Kolkata today), Sir Charles
Bell, a well known British statesman, scholar, and explorer. Geshe
Wangyal was hired as a translator to Sir Charles Bell, and
accompanied him on a trip through China and Manchuria before
returning to Tibet. He then received his geshe degree in Lhasa.

His relations with the British, such as working with Sir Charles
Bell, made him suspectious to the Tibetan government. Therefore he
could not stay in the monastery any longer. In the following several
years, he constantly travelled between Lhasa, Tibet and Kalimpong,
India to do business, in order to raise funds to help other monks to
receive their geshe degrees. Many Mongolian monks who were cut off
from their native land due to the communist revolution, received his
assistance. When the Chinese were start advancing Tibet in the early
1950s, he escaped to India. Then in 1955, he went to the United
States to work as a priest among the Kalmyk Mongols who were newly
resettled in New Jersey, New York and Panselvania as refugees from
the Soviet Union.

In the United States, he established a monastery, Labsum Shedrub
Ling, among the Kalmyks. He served as the monastery's head teacher
until his death in January, 1983. He received many students of
Western bakcground and taught them Buddhism, and made great
contribution to the spread of Buddhism in America. Among his
students is the well known religious studies professor and Buddhist
activist Robert A. F. Thurman
. Geshe Wangyal had also been offering great financial support
to the Tibetan monasteries in India and sponsoring Tibetan monks'
stays at his monastery.

In October, 1982 Geshe Wangyal transferred ownership of the
Labsum Shedrub Ling monastery building in New Brunswick, New Jersey,
which was supposed to be his lifetime work, to the Tibet Fund, as an
offering to His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama of Tibet.

Geshe Wangyal passed away on January 30, 1983 at the age of
eighty-one. "

"As an ethnic and religious anomaly, the
Mongolians were initially ignored by their host country. By the early twentieth
century, however, their mastery of Tibetan Buddhism eventually brought them to
the attention of the Russian czars. Looking to outwit the British in the great
game of colonial competition, the Russians sought to use a particularly gifted
Mongolian monk named Agvan Dorzhiev to court favor with Lhasa.

The task proved deceptively easy. A true
scholar of Tibetan Buddhism, Dorzhiev (who hailed from a displaced Mongolian
clan in Siberia) not only won an introduction to the thirteenth Dalai Lama but
also was retained as a palace tutor and confidant for ten years. Through this
inside connection, the relationship between Tibet and Russia had the makings of
a close alliance. In 1904, however, chances for this were dashed when the Dalai
Lama briefly fled to Mongolia following a British incursion from India. Dorzhiev
was dispatched to plead for emergency Russian support, but he returned with
nothing more than moral encouragement. Having just been humiliated in the
Russo-Japanese War, the czar had little time to spare for Tibet.

The Russians never had a chance to make
amends. In 1917, the czar was overthrown by Bolshevik communists, and Russia
became the Soviet Union. By that time, Dorzhiev had settled among his ethnic
relatives in Kalmykia and opened a pair of monastic schools. Tibet never strayed
far from his mind, however, and shortly after the Bolshevik revolution he
personally selected several of his best pupils to continue their studies in
Lhasa. Among them was a prodigy named Wangyal. [8]

Born in 1901, Wangyal had started monastic
life at age six. He was known for his ability to memorize several pages of
Buddhist text in a single sitting, and he regularly excelled in class. Switching
briefly to medical school, he again took top honors before reverting back to
religious course work following the untimely death of his professor.

After being selected to study in Lhasa,
Wangyal learned that he would be part of a larger expedition with ulterior
motives. As the Bolsheviks still harbored the czarist desire to court Tibet, one
of his co-travelers was a communist functionary who intended to offer Lhasa
weapons as a sign of good faith. Having Moscow's obvious blessing did not ease
the physical challenges of journeying to the Tibetan plateau. What was expected
to take four months instead took fourteen and claimed the life of one apprentice
in a blinding snowstorm.

Once in Lhasa, Wangyal enrolled at the
prestigious Drepung Monastic University. Located on a high ridge eight
kilometers west of the capital, Drepung had once been the largest monastery in
the world (its population in the seventeenth century was a staggering 10,000
monks), Setting his sights high, the newly arrived Mongolian intended to become
geshe (doctor of divinity) -- a title that can take up to thirty-five
years of study to achieve. [9]

Rigorous study was not Wangyal's only
challenge. He ran short of finances and was forced to leave Lhasa in 1932 to
seek funds at home. Planning to return by way of China, he got as far as Beijing
before hearing stories of Soviet repression back in Kalmykia. This led him to
look for an alternative source of financing in Beijing, and eventually he was
able to earn a good living translating Tibetan texts.

By 1935, Wangyal had amassed enough cash
and headed back toward Tibet via India. Making his way to Calcutta, he had a
chance meeting with Sir Charles Bell, a senior British colonial official and
noted Tibetan scholar who, ironically, had earlier displaced Agvan Dorzhiev as
the closest foreign confidant of the thirteenth Dalai Lama. Given his linguistic
skills -- Chinese, Mongolian, Tibetan, and a smattering of English -- Wangyal
was hired as Bell's translator during an extended tour of China and Manchuria.

Following these exhaustive travels --
including a four-month visit to England -- Wangyal finally made it to Lhasa.
There he earned his geshe degree after just nine years of study. Though
this was an impressive scholastic accomplishment, he found himself under a cloud
of suspicion. His foreign heritage, coupled with extended time spent in China
and service to the British, did not sit well among the xenophobes of the Tibetan
court.

Not fully welcome in the homeland of his
religion, Geshe Wangyal limited his time in Lhasa to the summer months. Winters
were spent in Kalimpong, where he displayed pronounced entrepreneurial skills as
a trader. Although this was financially rewarding, he yearned to open his own
religious school. Stonewalled in Tibet, he instead targeted Beijing -- only to
cancel those plans when the communists came to power in 1949. Figuring that he
would give Tibet a second chance, he again ventured to Lhasa but was forced to
flee upon hearing that the PLA was approaching the Tibetan capital in late 1951.
[10]

Back in Kalimpong, Geshe Wangyal grew
restless. China, Tibet, Mongolia, and his native Kalmykia were all under
communist occupation, but wasting away the months in tiny Kalimpong lacked both
mental and spiritual stimulation.

There was one attractive alternative,
however. In late 1951, the United States accepted 800 Kalmyk Mongolians who had
been languishing in refugee camps since the end of World War II. These refugees
were drawn from two waves that had fled the Soviet Union during the preceding
decades. The first had departed Kalmykia shortly after the Bolshevik revolution;
the second left in late 1943 after Joseph Stalin adopted a ruthless line against
minorities and started deporting the Mongolians to Siberia aboard cattle cars.
Once in the United States, the older wave of emigres settled around
Philadelphia. The newer ones -- no more than seventy families -- established a
small but vibrant community near Freewood Acres, New Jersey. [11]

Hearing of this, Geshe Wangyal
contemplated a move to the United States. His first several visa applications
were rejected, and it was not until mid-1954, following introductions by a
British acquaintance, that the U.S. vice consul in Calcutta processed his papers
with a favorable recommendation. [12]

Arriving on American soil in February
1955, Geshe Wangyal found that word of his religious accomplishments in Tibet
had already made him famous among his fellow Kalmyk Mongolians. With an instant
audience, he opened a modest temple in a converted New Jersey garage.

Geshe Wangal's fame was not limited to his
ethnic home crowd. As the first (and to that time, only) qualified scholar of
Tibetan Buddhism in the United States, he soon came in contact with Norbu, who
at the time was also living in New Jersey and teaching Tibetan at Columbia
University. Out of mutual respect between geshe and incarnation, Norbu
was given an honorary chair at the New Jersey temple.

The two cooperated in another way as well.
Following Norbu's lead, Geshe Wangyal began teaching languages -- first
Mongolian, then Tibetan -- at Columbia University in 1956. Having dissected
Tibetan grammar during years of poring over Buddhist texts, he had a
particularly deep appreciation for its written form. His extended time as Bell's
interpreter had left him with reasonably good English skills. The U.S.
government, for one, found his linguistic talents more than adequate: among his
first Tibetan students at Columbia were two from the U.S. Army. [13]

Given this background, Geshe Wangyal was
the perfect choice to instruct the Khampas about their own language. Having
already been indirectly exposed to the U.S. government while teaching the army
students -- and after being informed that Norbu was already involved -- the monk
offered his cooperation and was soon en route to Saipan."

In 1906, the Fire Horse Year, H. E. Deshung Rinpoche was born in
the mountainous Ga region of East Tibet into a family famous for its
skilled physicians. When he was only five years old, Rinpoche
appealed to his parents to be sent to a monastery so that he could
devote his life to the Buddhist path. Impressed by his request,
Rinpoche's parents realized that this was no ordinary person, but
one destined to a very special religious role. He then went to study
and live with his uncle, Ngawang Nyima, a monk who spent most of his
life in retreat at the Thaglung Monastery in Ga. Rinpoche began to
learn letters and memorization and did chores for his uncle.

As a boy Rinpoche read the biography of Milarepa in whom his
uncle had strong faith, and he was so inspired by the life of this
great saint, Rinpoche himself wished to become a yogi. Instead, his
future responsibilities bounded him to a more traditional approach
to the Dharma. Much later in life, Rinpoche expressed his continued
devotion to Milarepa with a pilgrimage to all places of importance
in that saint's life.

The lama from whom Rinpoche took the vows of Refuge was Kunga
Nyima, who along with Ngawang Nyima, practiced the meditation on
Vajrayogini. He therefore instructed Rinpoche in the practice of the
Black Demchog, a preliminary to Vajrayogini meditation. At age ten
Deshung Rinpoche finally met the great Sakya lama Ngawang Legpa
Rinpoche, who had just emerged from a fifteen year retreat. This master was to
become Rinpoche's root lama, of whom he spoke with the greatest
devotion and gratitude. When Rinpoche was fifteen years old, Legpa
Rinpoche gave him his novice monk's vows, and Rinpoche subsequently
became Lama Legpa's main disciple.

Rinpoche's early education included instructions in spelling,
etymology, versification, and rhetoric, Mahayana and Vajrayana
treatises, and in particular on the Madhyamika or Middle Way. Among
his lamas at this time were the Gelugpa lama, Lozang Chokyi Gawa,
and a Nyimgmapa lama, Shenga Chokyi Nangwa.

When Rinpoche was eighteen, he was recognized by the officials of
the Deshung Monastery to be the third rebirth of Deshung Lungrig
Nyima, and was accorded the appropriate wealth, position, and
quarters in the monastery. He remained in residence at the Thaglung
Monastery, however, rather than interrupt the precious teachings he
was receiving from Legpa Rinpoche. Lama Legpa grounded Deshung
Rinpoche in the traditional method of listening to the Dharma,
contemplating the teachings, and then practicing them, and he
directed Rinpoche to meet as many great lamas as possible.

Deshung Rinpoche describes Legpa Rinpoche as a very kind lama who
kept the strict vows of a Bhikshu monk. Because of his great faith
in Legpa Rinpoche, Deshung Rinpoche chose for his personal practice
the development of compassion through meditating on Chenrezi, Legpa
Rinpoche's primary practice. Lama Legpa's daily recitation of
mantras of Chenrezi greatly inspired Deshung Rinpoche, who seems
always to have this mantra on his lips.

Following the guidance of his lama, Rinpoche received extensive
teachings and empowerments from over forty additional lamas,
including the renowned Ri-me master, Jamyang Chokyi Lodro. These
teachings included the major texts of Tibetan Buddhism. For example,
Rinpoche received the Sakya Lamdre Tsogshe and Lamdre Lobshay four
times and became a recognized master of these teachings. He was
given the transmissions contained in the Druptap Kundu, a fourteen
volume collection of meditational texts on a thousand deities, and
as a part of his devotional tantric practices, Rinpoche completed
over ten years of retreats.

Deshung Rinpoche's journeys took him to monasteries throughout
Tibet, and his reputation as a scholar and skilled practitioner led
to numerous appeals for teachings and empowerments. In Sakya,
Rinpoche visited more than twenty monasteries where he expounded on
a vast range of subjects. He imparted the Chenrezi empowerment to
over ten thousand monks. During his late thirties Rinpoche lived and
traveled among the nomads of East Tibet who constituted the
supporting community of his Deshung Monastery. When lay people
expressed the desire for explanations of the Dharma, Rinpoche held
public meetings in East Tibet at which thousands gathered to hear
him teach about Chenrezi. When his niece married Dagchen Rinpoche, a
close relationship developed between Deshung Rinpoche and the Sakya
Hierarchy, and Rinpoche later served as lama - tutor to Dagchen
Rinpoche's eldest son, Minzu Vajra.

At the time of Legpa Rinpoche's passing, he appointed Deshung
Rinpoche to succeed him as Abbot of Tharlam Monastery. However, soon
after, Rinpoche and one hundred of his monks were forced to flee the
approaching armies of Communist Chinese, and only forty monks
survived the lengthy and dangerous escape to India.

Rinpoche came to the U.S. in 1960 to participate in a University
of Washington research project on Tibetan culture and religion.
During his twenty years in this country, he gave countless teachings
and empowerments at centers across the U.S. and Canada and founded
Sakya centers in New York City, Minneapolis, and Boston. Members of
Sakya Monastery in Seattle have been most fortunate to receive
extensive teachings from Rinpoche and to be inspired by his great
compassion. Rinpoche spent most of 1981 in Katmandu, Nepal
supervising the building of the new Tharlam Monastery and teaching
the numerous Tibetan and Western students.

In the ensuing years between the founding of Tharlam Monastery
and his passing in 1987, Deshung Rinpoche traveled between the US
and Nepal giving teachings and raising funds for the new monastery.
All who were fortunate enough to be able to see him were affected by
his great knowledge and compassion.

Abb.: Sonam Wangdu, Deshung Rinpoches Wiederverkörperung (Tulku)

Deshung Rinpoche's reincarnation, Sonam Wangdu, was born in
Seattle, Washington on November 12, 1991. He was formally enthroned
at Tharlam Monastery on March 8, 1994. His tonsure ceremony was
performed by H. H. Sakya Trizin on April 6th of that year. At the
same time he was given his formal name, Ngawang Kunga Tegchen Chokyi
Nyima, by H. H. Jigdal Dagchen Sakya. He now resides and studies at
Tharlam Monastery. "

1964

"Robert A. F. Thurman
is a scholar, author, former Tibetan Buddhist monk, Director of Tibet House in
New York City, a close personal friend of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and
father of five children including the Hollywood actress, Uma. He has lectured
all over the world; his charisma and enthusiasm draw packed audiences.

Robert Thurman's flair for the dramatic may be attributed to the weekly
Shakespeare readings hosted by his parents, in which Robert participated
alongside such guests as Laurence Olivier. He managed to get himself kicked out
of Exeter just prior to graduation for playing hooky in a failed attempt to join
Fidel Castro's Cuban guerrilla army in 1958. Harvard University admitted him
anyway, but a deep dissatisfaction and questioning led him to drop out and he
traveled on a "vision quest" as a pilgrim to India. Returning home to attend his
father's funeral, he met a Mongolian monk, Geshe Wangyal, and thus began
Thurman's life-long passion for Tibetan Buddhism.

In 1964, Geshe Wangyal introduced Thurman to His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and described Robert as,

"...a crazy American boy, very intelligent and with a
good heart (though a little proud), who spoke Tibetan well and had learned
something about Buddhism [and] wanted to become a monk…. Geshe Wangyal was
leaving it up to His Holiness to decide."

Thurman became the first Westerner to
be ordained as a Tibetan Buddhist monk. He was 24 and the Dalai Lama 29. They
eventually met weekly and His Holiness would quickly refer Thurman's questions
concerning Buddhism to another teacher and turn the conversation to Freud,
physics, and other "Western" topics of interest to him. Thurman describes this
phase of his life:

"All I wanted was to stay in the 2,500-year-old Buddhist
community of seekers of enlightenment, to be embraced as a monk. My inner world
was rich, full of insights and delightful visions, with a sense of luck and
privilege at having access to such great teachers and teachings and the time to
study and try to realize them."

But when he returned to the United States,
Thurman found that his career as a monk was not viable, so

"I decided that I
wanted to learn more Buddhist languages, read more Buddhist texts.… The only lay
institution in America comparable to monasticism is the university, so in the
end I turned to academia."

Robert Thurman currently holds the first endowed chair in this field of
study in the United States; he is the Jey Tsong Khapa Professor of Indo-Tibetan
Buddhist Studies at Columbia University. He is a prolific translator and writer
of both scholarly and popular works, including Tsong Khapa's Speech of Gold:
Reason and Enlightenment in the Central Philosophy of Tibet, The Tibetan
Book of the Dead, Essential Tibetan Buddhism, and his most recent,
Inner Revolution: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Real Happiness.

Thurman is not only a scholar, but a champion of the preservation of
Tibetan culture. In 1987, he and actor Richard Gere founded New York City's
Tibet House, a nonprofit institution devoted to preserving the living culture of
Tibet. Thurman writes, "What I have learned from these people [Tibetans] has
forever changed my life, and I believe their culture contains an inner science
particularly relevant to the difficult time in which we live. My desire is to
share some of the profound hope for our future that they have shared with me."

1970

Born in Tibet, Chögyam
Trungpa was the eleventh in a line of Trungpa tülkus, important
figures in the Kagyu tradition of
Tibetan Buddhism. In 1959, after having already achieved wide renown for his
teachings in his native country, he fled the Chinese invasion and
crossed the Himalaya on foot into India.

After familiarizing himself with the English language he studied
at Oxford and then came to the
United States at the invitation of several students.

In 1974, Trungpa founded the Naropa Institute, which later became
Naropa University, in
Boulder, Colorado. Naropa was the first accredited
Buddhist university in North America. Trungpa also founded more than 100
meditation centers throughout the world.

In 1976, Trungpa began giving teachings, since gathered and
presented as
Shambhala training, inspired by his vision (see terma) of the legendary Kingdom
of Shambhala. Shambhalian practices focus on connecting with one's
basic sanity and using that insight as inspiration for one's
encounter with the world.

Two of his famous and well known students are Pema
Chödrön and
Allen Ginsberg. Allen Ginsberg was also Teacher at Naropa University.

In 1986, Trungpa, in failing health, established his headquarters
in Nova Scotia, where he shortly thereafter died of a heart attack.

1958: Receives degrees of Kyorpön (Doctor of Divinity) and Khenpo
(Master of Studies). Ordained as a bhikshu (full monk).

1959-60: Escapes to India during the Chinese invasion of Tibet
and increasing suppression of the Buddhist religion.

1960-63: By appointment of the Dalai Lama, serves as spiritual
advisor to the Young Lamas' Home School in Dalhousie, India.

1963-67: Attends Oxford University on a Spaulding scholarship,
studying comparative religion, philosophy, and fine arts. Receives
instructor's degree in Sogetsu School of Japanese flower arrangement
founded by Master Sofu Teshigahara.

1968: Receives The Sadhana of Mahamudra terma text while on
retreat in Taktsang, a sacred cave in Bhutan. (see Termas)

1969: Becomes the first Tibetan British subject. Injured in a car
accident, leaving him partially paralyzed. Relinquishes monastic
vows and robes.

1970: Marries Diana Judith Pybus. Arrives in North America.
Establishes Tail of the Tiger, a Buddhist meditation and study
center in Vermont, now known as Karmê Chöling. Establishes Karma
Dzong, a Buddhist community in Boulder, Colorado.

1971: Begins teaching at University of Colorado. Establishes
Rocky Mountain Dharma Center, now known as Shambhala Mountain
Center, near Fort Collins, Colorado.

1972: Initiates Maitri, a therapeutic program that works with
different styles of neurosis using principles of the five buddha
families. Conducts the Milarepa Film Workshop, a program which
analyzes the aesthetics of film, on Lookout Mountain, Colorado.

1973: Founds Mudra Theater Group, which stages original plays and
practices theater exercises, based on traditional Tibetan dance.
Incorporates Vajradhatu, an international association of Buddhist
meditation and study centers, now known as Shambhala International.
Establishes Dorje Khyung Dzong, a retreat facility in southern
Colorado. Conducts first annual Vajradhatu Seminary, a three-month
advanced practice and study program.

1974: Incorporates Nalanda Foundation, a nonprofit, nonsectarian
educational organization to encourage and organize programs in the
fields of education, psychology, and the arts. Hosts the first North
American visit of His Holiness the Sixteenth Gyalwang Karmapa, head
of the Karma Kagyü lineage. Founds The Naropa Institute, a
contemplative studies and liberal arts college, now fully accredited
as Naropa University. Forms the organization that will become the
Dorje Kasung, a service group entrusted with the protection of the
buddhist teachings and the welfare of the community.

1975: Forms the organization that will become the Shambhala Lodge,
a group of students dedicated to fostering enlightened society.
Founds the Nalanda Translation Committee for the translation of
Buddhist texts from Tibetan and Sanskrit. Establishes Ashoka Credit
Union.

1976: Hosts the first North American visit of Dilgo Khyentse
Rinpoche, revered meditation master and scholar of the Nyingma
lineage. Hosts a visit of His Holiness Dudjom Rinpoche, head of the
Nyingma lineage. Empowers Thomas F. Rich as his dharma heir, known
thereafter as Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin. Establishes the Kalapa
Court in Boulder, Colorado, as his residence and a cultural center
for the Vajradhatu community. Receives the first of several
Shambhala terma texts (see termas).
These comprise the literary source for the Shambhala teachings.
Founds Alaya Preschool in Boulder, Colorado.

1977: Bestows the Vajrayogini abhisheka for the first time in the
West for students who have completed ngöndro practice. Establishes
the celebration of Shambhala Day. Observes a year-long retreat in
Charlemont, Massachusetts. Founds Shambhala Training to promote a
secular approach to meditation practice and an appreciation of basic
human goodness. Visits Nova Scotia for the first time.

1978: Conducts the first annual Magyal Pomra Encampment, an
advanced training program for members of the Dorje Kasung. Conducts
the first annual Kalapa Assembly, an intensive training program for
advanced Shambhala teachings and practices. Conducts the first
Dharma Art seminar. Forms Amara, an association of health
professionals. Forms the Upaya Council, a mediation council
providing a forum for resolving disputes. Establishes the
Midsummer's Day festival and Children's Day.

1979: Empowers his eldest son, Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo, as his
successor and heir to the Shambhala lineage. Founds the Shambhala
School of Dressage, an equestrian school under the direction of his
wife, Lady Diana Mukpo. Founds Vidya Elementary School in Boulder,
Colorado.

1980-83: Presents a series of environmental installations and
flower arranging exhibitions at art galleries in Los Angeles, San
Francisco, Denver, and Boulder.

1980: Forms Kalapa Cha to promote the practice of traditional
Japanese Tea Ceremony. With the Nalanda Translation Committee,
completes the first English translation of The Rain of Wisdom.

1981: Hosts the visit of His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
to Boulder, Colorado. Conducts the first annual Buddhist-Christian
Conference in Boulder, Colorado, exploring the common ground between
Buddhist and Christian contemplative traditions. Forms Ryuko Kyudojo
to promote the practice of Zen archery under the direction of
Shibata Kanjuro Sensei, bow maker to the Emperor of Japan. Directs a
film, Discovering Elegance, using footage of his environmental
installation and flower arranging exhibitions.

1982: Forms Kalapa Ikebana to promote the study and practice of
Japanese flower arranging.

1983: Establishes Gampo
Abbey, a Karma Kagyü monastery located in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, for Western
students wishing to enter into traditional monastic discipline.
Creates a series of elocution exercises to promote precision and
mindfulness of speech.

1984-85: Observes a year-long retreat in Mill Village, Nova
Scotia.

1986: Moves his home and the international headquarters of
Vajradhatu to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hagiographie Chögyam Trungpas:

"The Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche (1939-1987) was the
11th descendent in the line of Trungpa tülkus, important
teachers of the Kagyü lineage, one of the four main schools of
Tibetan Buddhism and renowned for its strong emphasis on meditation
practice. In addition to being a key teacher within the Kagyü
lineage, Chögyam Trungpa was also trained in the Nyingma tradition,
the oldest of the four schools and was an adherent of the ri-me
("non-sectarian") ecumenical movement within Tibetan Buddhism,
which aspired to bring together and make available all the valuable
teachings of the different schools, free of sectarian rivalry.
Throughout his life, he sought to bring the teachings he had
received to the largest possible audience.

Already installed as
the head of the Surmang monasteries in eastern Tibet, Chögyam
Trungpa was forced to flee the country in 1959, at the age of 20.
Barely escaping Chinese invaders, he and a small party of monks made
the perilous journey over the Himalayas to India on horseback and on
foot. From 1959-1963, by appointment of His Holiness, the Dalai
Lama, Chögyam Trungpa served as the spiritual advisor for the Young
Lamas Home School in Dalhousie, India.

In 1963, Chögyam Trungpa moved to England to study comparative
religion, philosophy, and fine arts under a Spaulding Fellowship at
Oxford University. During this time, he also studied Japanese flower
arranging and received an instructors degree from the Sogetsu school.
In 1967, he moved to Scotland, where he founded the Samye Ling
meditation centre, the first Tibetan Buddhist practice centre in the
West. Shortly thereafter, a variety of experiences--including a car
accident that left him partially paralyzed on the left side of his
body--led Chögyam Trungpa to the decision to give up his monastic
vows and work as a lay teacher. In 1969, he published Meditation
in Action, the first of fourteen books on the spiritual path
published during his lifetime. The following year represented yet
another turning point in Trungpa's life, when he married Diana Pybus
and moved to the United States, where he established his first North
American meditation centre, Tail of the Tiger (now known as Karmê-Chöling)
in Barnet, Vermont.

The ancient teachings and practical instructions that Chögyam
Trungpa brought with him found an eager audience in the America of
the 1970s, a decade during which he travelled nearly constantly
throughout North America, published six books, established three
meditation centres and a contemplative university (Naropa
University). He became renowned for his unique ability to present
the essence of the highest Buddhist teachings in a form readily
understandable to Western students.

During this period, Chögyam Trungpa conducted six Vajradhatu
Seminaries, three-month residential programs at which he presented a
vast body of Buddhist teachings in an atmosphere of intensive
meditation practice. The seminaries assisted in the important
function of training his students to become teachers themselves.
Chögyam Trungpa also invited other teachers, including His Holiness
the Gyalwang Karmapa--head of the Kagyü lineage--to come to the West
and offer teachings.

It was also during this period that Chögyam Trungpa founded
Vajradhatu (headquartered in Boulder, Colorado), the umbrella
organization for the many centres that were springing up throughout
the world under his direction. In 1976, he appointed Thomas Rich to
be his Vajra Regent, a traditional position giving someone the
responsibility of carrying on the teaching legacy left by a teacher.
Vajra Regent Ösel Tendzin was the first westerner to be acknowledged
as a lineage holder in the Kagyü tradition.

Beyond Buddhism

Late in the 1970s, Chögyam Trungpa expressed his
long-held desire to present contemplative practice to those who were
not necessarilly interested in studying Buddhism. He developed a
program called Shambhala Training, based on the legendary
enlightened kingdom of that name. During the 1980s, while continuing
teaching tours, Vajradhatu Seminaries, and book publication--and
establishing a Buddhist monastery in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia,
Canada--Trungpa increasingly turned his attention to the propagation
of teachings that extended beyond the Buddhist canon. These
activities included not only Shambhala Training, which was
attracting thousands of students, but also Japanese archery,
calligraphy, flower arranging, tea ceremony, health care, dance,
theatre, and psychotherapy, among others. In planting the seeds for
these many activities, Chögyam Trungpa sought to bring, in his words,
"art to everyday life." He founded the Nalanda Foundation in 1974 as
an umbrella organization for these activities.

The essence of the organization that Chögyam Trungpa had founded
was the offering of meditation instruction and teaching programs at
the more than 100 city-based centres (Dharmadhatus) spread
throughout the world and at the several rural contemplative centres
where intensive meditation and study programs were held. At these
various centres, which formed a large and somewhat informal network,
students were introduced to the possibility of integrating
meditation practice and study into their everyday lives. Depending
on their interests and inclinations, students engaged in any of the
many contemplative activities that are now part of the Shambhala
organization--from traditional meditation practice to flower
arranging and dance.

A New Era

In 1986, based on his desire to establish the centre of
his organization in a less agressive and materialistic atmosphere,
Chögyam Trungpa moved to Nova Scotia, where hundreds of his students
had already settled.

It would prove to be the last of his many moves. Not long after,
in April 1987, Chögyam Trungpa's life came to an end. His passing
was marked in an elaborate day-long ceremony, attracting more than
3,000 people, held on the Vermont land where he had first
established a foothold in the West. Several years later, the Vajra
Regent passed away as well. During the period following these deaths,
the community and its leadership turned to one of Chögyam Trungpa's
most revered and only living teachers, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, then
supreme head of the Nyingma lineage.

Appointment of the Sawang Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo

In 1990, at the
urging of Khyentse Rinpoche, Trungpa Rinpoche's eldest son, the
Sawang Ösel Rangdröl Mukpo (now known as Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, as
indicated below) returned from a period of practice and study with
Dilgo Khyentse in Nepal to lead the community and direct the work
his father, Chögyam Trungpa, had begun. As the Shambhala lineage is
passed from parent to child, Chögyam Trungpa had trained his eldest
son from childhood to take on this role. The Sawang's first major
directive was to bring the many activities of his father's students
under the umbrella of Shambhala International and to declare each of
the centers throughout the world a "Shambhala Centre," offering
secular meditation, spiritual training, and cultural activities
under one roof.

With this in mind, the Shambhala community, under the leadership
of the Sawang, continued to explore ways to make the value of what
it had to offer more broadly known. For example, the Shambhala Sun
became available on thousands of newsstands and was internationally
recognized for its insight into contemporary society and its
captivating design. Geographic expansion occurred as well with the
establishment of a major rural meditation center near Limoges,
France.

Enthronement of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche

In May 1995, with the
organization in its twenty-fifth year, Shambhala Centres expanding
throughout the world, and a well-established Nova Scotian community,
the Sawang was formally installed as Sakyong--leader of both the
spiritual and secular aspects of Shambhala. The Sakyong enthronement
also recognized the Sakyong as Mipham Rinpoche, a descendant of the
revered nineteenth-century Tibetan meditation master and scholar.
This ceremony marked an important milestone in the history of
Shambhala International, recognizing the role of Sakyong Mipham
Rinpoche in carrying on what his father envisioned when he set foot
on North American soil twenty five years earlier."

"1. What kind of organization is Dharma Publishing? Is it
affiliated with a particular school of Buddhism?

Dharma Publishing is a non-profit corporation. No one who works at
Dharma Publishing, including the directors, gets paid. All of our
profits are donated to our Tibetan Text Preservation Project, which
prints, collates, wraps and ships traditional sacred Tibetan texts
and art to Tibetan refugees in India. Dharma Publishing was founded
by Tarthang Tulku, a Tibetan lama who came to the United States in
1968, and is dedicated to making available teachings and texts that
can benefit anyone who practices Buddhism or is interested in
learning more about it. Tarthang Tulku comes from the Nyingma
lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, which is a Mahayana (“Great Vehicle”)
school.

2. How is the income from the sale of Dharma Publishing books and
art used?

Dharma Publishing follows the ancient principle that no individual
should benefit financially from the teachings. We have no employees
and pay no salaries. Full-time volunteers receive a stipend, but
even this money comes from other sources. Upon occasion, an
individual or company with a specialized skill is hired on a
contract basis, but 99% of our work is done by our volunteers. All
income goes either into other Dharma Publishing publishing projects,
or it is counted as profit. 100% of our profit is donated to the
Tibetan Text Preservation Project, which produces and distributes
books and sacred art to Tibetans in India, Nepal, Bhutan, and
Sikkim. "

"Tarthang Tulku, a Tibetan lama, was one of the first
who fled to India. He left with his teacher in 1958, before the big exodus of
1959, and brought with him rare teachings and texts. He recognized the urgency
of saving the cultural treasures of Tibet and 10 years later decided to go to
the West. In 1971, the pre-eminent scholar, teacher and author founded Dharma
Publishing in Berkeley, California.

A nonprofit organization dependent entirely on
donations, Dharma Publishing is celebrating its 25th anniversary and the
completion of the first phase of a massive project -- preserving the finest
examples of Tibetan art and literature. Over one million pages of Tibetan texts
have been collected, catalogued and published in 755 hand-bound, atlas-sized volumes. They have printed 108 complete sets. All are printed on acid-free paper
designed to endure for at least three centuries. Some of the subjects include
science of mind and consciousness, philosophy, metaphysics, medicine, art,
science, poetry, grammar, history and biography. More than 500 of the finest
Tibetan paintings have survived and high-quality prints have been made from the
originals.

Dharma Publishing consists of 20 core people -- no
one is salaried -- and hundreds of volunteers from around the world. Some of the
countries represented are Brazil, Germany, Japan, and The Netherlands. Tarthang
Tulku has been a great inspiration to many Westerners. He also opened the
Nyingma Institute in Berkeley, a school offering them the opportunity to study
and practise Buddhist teachings. [Webpräsenz:
http://www.nyingmainstitute.com/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-02] "

1971

Along with the increased immigration of Tibetan refugees in the United
States, came His Holiness the Vidyadhara Chogyam Trungpa, holder of the
Kagyu lineage of the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. After being forced to flee
Tibet in 1959, Trungpa Rinpoche initially traveled to India and England.
However, in 1970, he moved to the United States with his British wife, Diana
Judith. After establishing many centers throughout the country, he
established the Shambhala Mountain Center in northern Colorado in Red
Feather Lakes.

Trungpa Rinpoche and several of his students arrived in Red Feather
Lakes in 1971 and were astonished by the breathtaking atmosphere of
seemingly untouched land. Over the course of the following decade, the
center expanded as the community built facilities on the land and held
programs and seminars concerning Buddhist teachings and practice. When,
in the mid-1980's Trungpa Rinpoche began holding his three-month long
intensive Seminary program, preparing his students for initiation into
the Vajrayana tradition, he oversaw the construction of several "tent
cities" throughout the land which serve as housing to this day.
Currently, additional indoor housing it available for visitors as well.

After his death in 1987, the community mourned the loss of their great
teacher who had successfully planted Buddhism in the United States.
Having empowered a Westerner, The Vajra Regent Osel Tendzin, as lineage
holder, Trungpa Rinpoche achieved his goal of passing the power and
wisdom of his tradition to the West. When the Regent unfortunately died
soon after, Trungpa Rinpoche's son, Jamgon Mipham, became the Sakyong
and leader of the community. Currently, Shambhala International has 165
centers throughout the world including six residential centers,
exemplifying the success of the tradition. To find the center nearest
you visit
Shambhala International .

The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya Which Liberates Upon
Seeing

At the time of his death, Trungpa Rinpoche’s students began what became
a fourteen year process of building a stupa at Shambhala Mountain Center
in remembrance of their teacher and his life’s work. As one of the
consistent practices of Buddhism since the time of the Buddha’s death,
the act of building stupas is a significant Buddhist activity and
tradition. Recently completed, the stupa became the pinnacle of
Shambhala Mountain Center and it impresses those who see it and use it
because of its grandeur and symbolic value.

The Great Stupa of Dharmakaya Which Liberates Upon Seeing has not only
impacted the community at Shambhala Mountain Center immensely by
providing a space for practitioners of all levels and serving as a
meeting place for the community, but it has also changed the American
Buddhist landscape and serves as a monument for peace, compassion and
harmony.

Currently attracting approximately 300 people a week, the center is
amazed at the interest and excited at the prospects of the evolving
Buddhist tradition in the United States. The stupa’s beauty, grace and
energy touches people deeply, allowing many to connect with the
goodness, compassion and wisdom the structure represents. While
predictions of the Great Stupa’s impact are difficult to make, it is
easy to imagine that the same reaction of visitors, workers, Buddhists
and non-Buddhists alike will continue to express amazement and respect
for this incredible example of Buddhist architecture in the United
States.

Description

The 600 acre property of Shambhala Mountain Center, includes open fields
and forested areas, surrounded by peaks. Aspens not only please the
visual landscape but they also fill the air with a sweet, refreshing
aroma. Several ponds are scattered throughout the land and a stream runs
near the Great Stupa. The serene atmosphere of the land creates a
peaceful momentum that runs throughout the community Trungpa Rinpoche
established on its land.

According to Executive Director, Jeffrey Waltcher, in the last four and
a half years they have renovated approximately 35,000 sq. ft. of
structures not including the stupa. The Sacred Studies Hall, a building
with space for meditation, yoga, dharma talks, and programs and the
Shotuku Children’s Center, a building with the specifically aimed at
providing a positive space for child care were completed in 1999.
Additional housing facilities including Red Feather Campus, and the
Shambhala Lodge make possible the increase in programs and visitors.
Despite the many structural additions, the land maintains its natural
beauty and solitude.

Shambhala Buddhism

Part of the reason why Chogyam Trungpa’s mission to spread buddhadharma
in the West was so successful was because he found a way to relate to
the Western mind. While he found it important to pass on the knowledge
of the Buddhist teachings he received in Tibet, he also found other ways
to cultivate the basic goodness in human beings. When his son became
leader, he divided the organization into three groups all which are part
of the larger “Shambhala International”: Vajradhatu, Shambhala Training
and Nalanda. By dividing the organization into separate groups, he
reached more people. The Vajradhatu programs and teachings are
specifically Buddhist while Shambhala programs and teachings are secular,
appealing to a wide audience of Buddhists and non-Buddhists alike.

Activities and Schedule

For upcoming programs and events, please visit the Shambhala Mountain
Center's website. Call
ahead to schedule a guided tour of the Great Stupa of Dharmakaya.

"Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935. At the age
of six, he entered the great Sera Monastic University, Lhasa, where
he studied until 1959, when the Chinese invasion of Tibet forced him
into exile in India. Lama Yeshe continued to study and meditate in
India until 1967, when, with his chief disciple, Lama Thubten Zopa
Rinpoche, he went to Nepal. Two years later he established Kopan
Monastery, near Kathmandu, in order to teach Buddhism to Westerners.
In 1974, the Lamas began making annual teaching tours to the West,
and as a result of these travels a worldwide network of Buddhist
teaching and meditation centers—the Foundation for the Preservation
of the Mahayana Tradition—began to develop. In 1984, after an
intense decade of imparting a wide variety of incredible teachings
and establishing one FPMT activity after another, at the age of
forty-nine, Lama Yeshe passed away. He was reborn as Ösel Hita
Torres in Spain in 1985, recognized as the incarnation of Lama Yeshe
by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in 1986, and, as the monk Lama Tenzin
Osel Rinpoche, began studying for his geshe degree in 1992 at the
reconstituted Sera Monastery in South India. Lama’s remarkable story
is told in Vicki Mackenzie’s book, Reincarnation: The Boy Lama
(Wisdom Publications, 1996).

Some of Lama Yeshe’s teachings have also been published by Wisdom.
Books include Wisdom Energy; Introduction to Tantra; The Tantric
Path of Purification; and (recently) The Bliss of Inner Fire.
Transcripts in print are Light of Dharma; Life, Death and After
Death; and Transference of Consciousness at the Time of Death.
Available through FPMT centers or at www.wisdompubs.org.

Lama Yeshe on videotape: Introduction to Tantra, The Three
Principal Aspects of the Path, and Offering Tsok to Heruka
Vajrasattva. Available from the Lama Yeshe Wisdom Archive.

Lama Thubten Yeshe was born in Tibet in 1935 not far from
Lhasa in the town of Tölung Dechen. Two hours away by horse was the
Chi-me Lung Gompa, home for about 100 nuns of the Gelug tradition.
It had been a few years since their learned abbess and guru had
passed away when Nenung Pawo Rinpoche, a Kagyü lama widely famed for
his psychic powers, came by their convent. They approached him and
asked, "Where is our guru now?" He answered that in a nearby village
there was a boy born at such and such a time, and if they
investigated they would discover that he was their incarnated abbess.
Following his advice they found the young Lama Yeshe to whom they
brought many offerings and gave the name Thondrub Dorje.

Afterwards the nuns would often take the young boy back to their
convent to attend the various ceremonies and other religious
functions held there. During these visits—which would sometimes last
for days at a time—he often stayed in their shrine room and attended
services with them. The nuns would also frequently visit him at his
parents' home where he was taught the alphabet, grammar and reading
by his uncle, Ngawang Norbu, a student geshe from Sera Monastery.

Even though the young boy loved his parents very much, he felt
that their existence was full of suffering and did not want to live
as they did. From a very early age he expressed the desire to lead a
religious life. Whenever a monk would visit their home, he would beg
to leave with him and join a monastery. Finally, when he was six
years old, he received his parents' permission to join Sera Je, a
college at one of the three great Gelug monastic centers located in
the vicinity of Lhasa. He was taken there by his uncle, who promised
the young boy's mother that he would take good care of him. The nuns
offered him robes and the other necessities of life he required at
Sera, while the uncle supervised him strictly and made him study
very hard.

He stayed at Sera until he was twenty-five years old. There he
received spiritual instruction based on the educational traditions
brought from India to Tibet over a thousand years ago. From Kyabje
Trijang Rinpoche, the Junior Tutor of His Holiness the Dalai Lama,
he received teachings on the lam-rim graded course to enlightenment
which outlines the entire sutra path to buddhahood. In addition he
received many tantric initiations and discourses from both the
Junior Tutor and the Senior Tutor, Kyabje Ling Rinpoche, as well as
from Drag-ri Dorje-chang Rinpoche, Song Rinpoche, Lhatzün
Dorje-chang Rinpoche and many other great gurus and meditation
masters.

Such tantric teachings as Lama Yeshe received provide a powerful
and speedy path to the attainment of a fully awakened and purified
mind, aspects of which are represented by a wide variety of tantric
deities. Some of the meditational deities into whose practice Lama
Yeshe was initiated were Heruka, Vajrabhairava and Guhyasamaja,
representing respectively the compassion, wisdom and skilful means
of a fully enlightened being. In addition, he studied the famous Six
Yogas of Naropa, following a commentary based on the personal
experiences of Je Tsong Khapa.

Among the other teachers who guided his spiritual development
were Geshe Thubten Wangchug Rinpoche, Geshe Lhundrub Sopa Rinpoche,
Geshe Rabten and Geshe Ngawang Gedun. At the age of eight he was
ordained as a novice monk by the venerable Purchog Jampa Rinpoche.
During all this training one of Lama Yeshe's recurring prayers was
to be able some day to bring the peaceful benefits of spiritual
practice to those beings ignorant of the Dharma.

This phase of his education came to an end in 1959. As Lama Yeshe
himself has said, "In that year the Chinese kindly told us that it
was time to leave Tibet and meet the outside world." Escaping
through Bhutan, he eventually reached northeast India where he met
up with many other Tibetan refugees. At the Tibetan settlement camp
of Buxa Duar he continued his studies from where they had been
interrupted. While in Tibet he had already received instruction in
Prajnaparamita (the perfection of wisdom), Madhyamika philosophy (the
middle way) and logic. In India his education proceeded with courses
in the vinaya rules of discipline and the abhidharma system of
metaphysics. In addition, the great bodhisattva Tenzin Gyaltsen, the
Kunu Lama, gave him teachings on Shantideva's
Bodhisattvacaryavatara (Guide to the Bodhisattva's Way of Life)
and Atisha's Bodhipathapradipa (Lamp of the Path to
Enlightenment). He also attended additional tantric initiations and
discourses and, at the age of twenty eight, received full monk's
ordination from Kyabje Ling Rinpoche.

One of Lama Yeshe's gurus in both Tibet and Buxa Duar was Geshe
Rabten, a highly learned practitioner famous for his single-minded
concentration and powers of logic. This compassionate guru had a
disciple named Thubten Zopa Rinpoche and, at Geshe Rabten's
suggestion, Zopa Rinpoche began to receive additional instruction
from Lama Yeshe. Zopa Rinpoche was a young boy at the time and the
servant caring for him wanted very much to entrust him permanently
to Lama Yeshe. Upon consultation with Kyabje Trijang Rinpoche, this
arrangement was decided upon and they were together until Lama's
death in 1984. "

"The Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana
Tradition is an international, non-profit organization, founded
in 1975 by Lama Thubten Yeshe (1935-84), a Tibetan Buddhist monk.
The Foundation is devoted to the transmission of the Mahayana
Buddhist tradition and values worldwide through teaching, meditation,
and community service. We provide integrated education through which
people's minds and hearts can be transformed into their highest
potential for the benefit of others, inspired by an attitude of
universal responsibility. We are committed to creating harmonious
environments and helping all beings develop their full potential of
infinite wisdom and compassion. Our organization is based on the
Buddhist tradition of Lama Tsong Khapa of Tibet as taught to us by
our founder Lama Thubten Yeshe and spiritual director Lama Zopa Rinpoche.

Lama Yeshe died in 1984, his reincarnation Lama Tenzin Ösel
Rinpoche was born to Spanish parents in 1985. Lama Osel is now studying in one
of the main Tibetan Buddhist monasteries in south India. He will
again take on the position as Director of the Organization once he
has finished his formal monastic studies.

Every living being has the
potential to be free from suffering and to develop limitless love
and compassion for others. Working to help human beings fulfill this
potential are the individuals, meditation groups, monasteries,
retreat centers, publishing houses, businesses and members who are
part of the FPMT. The FPMT strives to follow the example and
inspiration of His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his compassionate
service to humanity.

FPMT students try to serve others throughout the
world with kindness and wisdom.
We are a rapidly growing non-profit organization participating in
many aspects of the world community. Some of the projects which are
part of FPMT are:

Monasteries and nunneries in 6 countries

Liberation Prison Project

Leprosy Clinics

Polio Clinics

Health and Nutrition Clinics

Meditation Centers in 26 Countries

Hospices

Building the world's largest statue: a 500ft/152m statue of
Maitreya, the future Buddha, by the Maitreya Project in
Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh, India

1975

"RIGPA
is a Tibetan word, which
in general means 'intelligence' or 'awareness'. In Dzogchen, however,
the highest teachings in the Buddhist tradition of Tibet, rigpa
has a deeper connotation, 'the innermost nature of the mind'. The
whole of the teaching of Buddha is directed towards realizing this,
our ultimate nature, the state of omniscience or enlightenment - a
truth so universal, so primordial that it goes beyond all limits,
and beyond even religion itself.

Inspired by this, Sogyal Rinpoche gave the name 'Rigpa' to his work
and to the vehicle he was developing to serve the Buddha's teaching
in the west. Now an international network with centers and groups in
fifteen countries around the world, Rigpa seeks:

To make the teachings of Buddha
available to benefit as many people as possible, and

To offer those following the
Buddhist teachings a complete path of study and practice, along
with the environment they need to explore the teachings to their
fullest."

"On August 22, 1976, the Vidyadhara Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche
empowered Thomas F. Rich, Ösel Tendzin, as his Vajra Regent, and
lineage holder in the Karma Kagyü and Nyingma lineages. During his
1977 visit to the United States, His Holiness the Gyalwa Karmapa,
the head of the Kagyü lineage, confirmed the Vajra Regent's
appointment as a lineage holder. Ösel Tendzin was the first Western
student to hold such a position in the Kagyü lineage.

Born in
Passaic, New Jersey, in 1943, Thomas F. Rich attended Fordham
University, graduating in 1965. After graduation he worked as a
physical therapist in New York and in Los Angeles. He first
encountered the Vidyadhara in 1971 in Boulder, Colorado, and made an
instant and strong connection with him. In 1973, he was appointed to
the first Vajradhatu Board of Directors and was later appointed
executive vice-president of both Vajradhatu and Nalanda.

After being empowered as the Vajra Regent, Ösel Tendzin taught
extensively throughout North America and Europe. In 1977, when
Trungpa Rinpoche went on an extended retreat, he left the management
and primary teaching responsibilities of Vajradhatu in the hands of
the Vajra Regent. Trungpa Rinpoche and the Vajra Regent worked
closely together on many projects, including co-founding the
Shambhala Training Program. In addition to his teaching and
administrative duties, the Vajra Regent also practiced dharma art,
including calligraphy, poetry, and photography.

For many years, Trungpa Rinpoche had indicated his intention to
relocate the executive headquarters of Vajradhatu and Shambhala
Training in Halifax, Nova Scotia. In 1985, the Vajra Regent and his
family moved to Nova Scotia to take up residence there. He guided
the sangha through this transition, as well as through the difficult
period following Trungpa Rinpoche's death in 1987. In 1988 the Vajra
Regent himself became gravely ill with AIDS and there was dissension
in the community around the leadership of the organizations. On
August 25, 1990, he passed away in San Francisco, California. The
Vajra Regent's wife, Lila Rich, their four children, and a group of
his students continue to live in Ojai, California.

The Vajra Regent was both an inspiring teacher and an effective
administrator. His example was powerful as well as provocative.
Through his inspiration, joyful energy, and hard work many students
encountered the teachings of Buddhism and Shambhala Training and
embarked upon the practice of meditation. He played a vital role in
the task of planting these profound spiritual teachings firmly in
the Western world."

"The system of five tibetan exercises (or rites) was
described by
Peter Kelder on the basis of
Colonel Bradford's narrowing already in the 1930s. The exercise is similar, but
not identical, to yoga, and is not linked to any religion.

History

Colonel Bradford returned to England after 23 years and looked
more younger. He was over 70 and looked as 45 old man – without his
stick, youngful, movable, and his afore grey hair was dark.

How to perform the exercises

Regular daily exercising
promises rejuvenation and sanifying.

Clockwise rotation as in pirouette.

Lifting of head and legs from lying on ground.

Clining back in kneeing.

Making "bank" from sitting.

Making "roof" from lying face down on ground.

(sixth, "secret" exercise) Deep expiration in deep decline
down, fingers of hands to fingers to feet; very slow breath
through the nose

"One afternoon, Peter Kedler was sitting in a park, reading his
newspaper, and engaging conversation with an old man, a retired
British Army officer, whom he calls Colonel Bradford, though he
admits that it is not his real name. It seems that during his
travels to India, some years ago, Colonel Bradford had heard the
interesting stories of a group of lamas who had discovered the
secret of eternal youth. The lamas lived in monasteries, where the
secret had been kept due to their remote location. Colonel Bradford,
who had, like many other men, grown old at the age of forty (and was
not getting younger since), told Kedler that he intended to go to
India and look for this monastery. He asked Kedler to come along,
but Kedler refused, wondering shortly after if this was the right
decision.

Many years later, Kedler received a
letter from Colonel Bradford. The very exciting news were that not
only had the Colonel found the fountain of youth, but that he was
bringing it back to the USA, two months later. This was about four
years after Kedler had last seen the Colonel. When he finally
arrived, Kedler could not recognize him. His gray hair had mostly
disappeared and he looked decades younger. The Colonel then went on
to tell his story.

After many months of wanderings in northern India,
the Colonel headed for Tibet. After a long and perilous expedition
in the Himalayas, which followed a thorough investigation to find
the location of the monastery, the Colonel finally arrived to the
land of eternal youth. There, he found a group of lamas, composed of
men and women, who didn’t seem to age the same way that Westerners
do. They constantly kept their strength and vitality. The secrets to
this “fountain of youth” was apparently a set of simple exercises
that they performed everyday, along with a frugal existence away
from the worries of the modern world. But the most important thing
was their understanding of the “chakras”

The lamas explained to Colonel Bradford that the
chakras, also called vortexes, are powerful energy centers, that
govern the endocrine system of the body, which, in turn, regulates
the process of aging. There are 7 vortexes or chakras, and anyone
that has studied yoga is familiar with them. In a healthy person,
the chakras are “spinning” at a normal speed, permitting the prana,
or vital life energy, to flow through the body. What happens is that
at some point, one or more of these chakras slows down, and then the
flow of prana is inhibited, and that’s when aging starts. So the key
to eternal, or at least greatly prolonged youth, is to keep the
chakras spinning full spine, and one of the ways to do this is to
practice the five Tibetans everyday.

He wrote: “The only difference between youth and
vigor, and old age and poor health is simply the rate of speed at
which the vortexes are spinning. Normalize the rate of speed, and
the old person becomes like new again.”"

"Snow Lion was a grassroots, do-it-yourself press founded by a
Gabriel and Patricia Aiello, a pair of Ithacans whose encounter with
the Dalai Lama in 1979 inspired them to take action on behalf of
causes Tibetan. But, other than a desire to help the Dalai Lama, the
Aiellos knew very little about Tibetan culture. However, they did
know Sidney Piburn, and knowing Piburn was like having a 24-hour
Tibetologist at their side. A graduate of Cornell University, Piburn
had made several trips to Dharamsala, India, the home of Tibet's
government-in-exile. In 1974 and 1975, Piburn held a private
audience with the Dalai Lama and it was partly through Piburn's
efforts that the Dalai Lama made his first visit to the U.S. in
1979.

Piburn, co-founder of Snow Lion, boasts no diplomatic
credentials, but his familiarity with things Tibetan won him the
confidence of numerous authorities- political as well as scholarly.
The Aiellos could have had no better point man in their company when,
in 1980, the fledgling publishers met with the Dalai Lama in Toronto
to discuss a business plan.

At that point Snow Lion was not a purely Tibetan enterprise, but
the Aiellos and Piburn wanted Tibetan texts to figure largely in
their stock and trade. They sought advice from the Dalai Lama on the
best way to go about publishing Tibetan literature and HH was far
more than forthcoming. The Dalai Lama suggested a broad list of
titles that would appeal to the general public as well as to
practicing Buddhists and Tibetan scholars. His advice was well taken
and the meeting, apparently winding down, was deemed successful. But
the Dalai Lama had a surprise for the Ithaca trio. Without
solicitation of any kind, he made a flat-out offer: His 1979 U.S.
talks, translated and interpreted by Hopkins, America's master
Tibetan scholar, were Snow Lion's for the taking.

The gift was like a mandate from God.

"At that point, Harper and Row wanted the book," said Piburn, who
was astonished by the offer. "Here he turns around and gives it to
some kids without any funds or experience, in Ithaca, New York."

It would take four years for Snow Lion to publish Kindness, Clarity and
Insight, but having the Dalai Lama's imprimatur put the little house on the
map. In the mean time, the Aiellos had by personal necessity bowed
out of the venture. They turned the entire business over the Piburn.
Snow Lion was incorporated and Piburn suddenly found himself
promoted from consultant to owner and his Tibetan Buddhist training
put to a stress test as he sweated out the lean years. In 1984,
Piburn forged a partnership with Jeff Cox, a friend and associate
with a business background and an abiding interest in Eastern
religion and Tibetan culture. Together they worked to secure funding
and to meet a nose crunching deadline for Kindness Clarity and
Insight : The Dalai Lama was due for his second U.S. tour that
autumn and the book was pegged to his arrival. Under pressure, Snow
Lion managed to finish the book, which sold 10,000 copies and
requried three reprints to meet demand. No small task under the
circumstances.

The Dalai Lama's book synergized Snow Lion and spared it from an
early grave. It was a close call: by the time Kindness, Clarity
and Insight came out, Snow Lion's resources were depleted, its
thin shelf of eight titles completely out of stock. On the tail
winds of Kindness, Clarity and Insight , a growing
relationship with Hopkins and the University of Virginia led to
three new books and suddenly Snow Lion had momentum.

Cox, who helped to guide Snow Lion from red to black, initiated a
free international newsletter, a project that not only boosted
Tibet, but helped to spread Snow Lion's name throughout the Tibetan
community-at-large.

"Up until then most Tibetan groups in America were disparate-
there wasn't a unifying vehicle. The newsletter contained everything
Tibetan," said Cox. "Interest in it grew quickly and it became a
central force in getting our name out there."
In 1987, Snow Lion found an investor and jumped from publishing two
or three books a year to publishing more than 10 books annually.
Today, Snow Lion produces 20 new titles in a year. The small
company's rise paralleled, even helped stimulate, a passionate
global fascination with Tibetan religion, culture and political
issues. Long before Tibetan struggles became a Hollywood cause
celebe, Snow Lion was reaching an audience of people who normally
would not have had access to Tibetan materials. In 1980, there were
three Buddhist centers in the U.S.; today there are 500. Tibetan
arts groups and performers and Tibetan teachers as well as monks
appeared in diverse settings across America. These saffron and
crimson robed emissaries were a cultural phenomenon that eventually
influenced Congress to pass an immigration bill allowing for the
Tibetan Resettlement Project of 1989 and 1990.

Just about then, as far as Snow Lion was concerned, all heaven
broke loose. Ten years after the Dalai Lama's personal offer
galvanized the Snow Lion mission, HH again came to the aid of the
determined Ithaca house. This time however, the blessing came
through the will of the world.

"I woke up one morning in 1989 and turned on the radio and
learned that the Dalai Lama had won the Nobel Peace Prize," said
Piburn. "That changed everything."

With 12 Dalai Lama books to their name, Snow Lion's publishers
worked furiously to produce The Dalai Lama, A Policy of
Kindness. Something of a Dalai Lama primer, it categorized commentary from
HH on a variety of general topics. The Dalai Lama, Policy of
Kindness served to portray the Dalai Lama as a worldly-wise,
accessible leader of great character and appeal. The text was picked
up as a Book-of-the-Month Club and more than 70,000 copies have been
sold.

In 1990, Piburn helped arrange a Dalai Lama visit to Cornell
University and almost inadvertantly positioned Snow Lion as a
primary source for authentic Tibetan texts, from the popular to the
esoteric.

Business ran apace and Snow Lion outgrew several locations in
downtown Ithaca. Today, with 150 titles and several publishing
sidelines such as gift cards and bumper stickers, Snow Lion is
housed in a converted warehouse on the city's West End business
district with offices in a modest residence next door. Small Tibetan
prayer flags hanging outside a freight entrance offer some hint at
the doings within, but otherwise the site exhibits little of the
exotic.

True to its mission, Snow Lion continues to publish books that
would likely never find their way into print.

"They don't abandon a book just because it doesn't sell and
that's very, very important," said Hopkins.

And they tackle projects no bottom-line publisher would touch.
For instance, the 1,027-page book Fluent Tibetan. Printed in four
volumes, with 18 audio tapes and a CD ROM, it runs for $250. It's
expensive to produce, but sales of more than 2,000 copies will keep
Fluent Tibetan on the shelves for a long time to come.

Snow Lion's commitment — and it's growth, caught the attention of
the National Book Network, a first rate North American distribution
firm that handles a mix of 80 large and small, mostly independent
houses.

"Snow Lion has the best selection of Tibetan materials of anybody
in the business," said Victoria Metzger NBN spokeswoman. "Their
growth came from demand, not venture capital investment. That's
really nice- and rare- to see in this age of the mega-publisher with
huge consolidations and changes in the book selling and publishing
market almost every month."

Today Snow Lion employs sixteen people, including four members of
the Tibetan community who have settled in Ithaca.
Since 1990, Ithaca also has become the site of Namgyal Monastery,
the personal monastery of the Dalai Lama, and the first established
in the western hemisphere. Piburn's efforts have figured
significantly into the Tibetan resettlement in Ithaca as well as the
arrival of Namgyal and the continued success of Snow Lion.

Twenty years after a fortuitous meeting with the Dalai Lama
sealed its fate, Snow Lion books can be found in stores and
libraries throughout the world. There's even a bookstore in
Dharamsala that exclusively stocks Snow Lion's publications.
Ithacans traveling abroad are surprised to see the Snow Lion name in
far flung shops around the globe. In a fiercely comeptitive trade,
one that is as vulnerable as any to the ruthless barbarisms of
modern commerce, Snow Lion holds its own. Created from a simple
desire to help, its success- albeit modest- symbolizes a triumph of
compassion over greed. Snow Lion's fate is now subtly interwoven
with that of a fragile culture whose very survival is dependent upon
the passage of information: undiluted, uncensored, unexpurgated
truths bound within the body of knowledge to which books are like
vital organs."

"Pema Chödrön (formerly Deirdre Blomfield-Brown,
born 1936) is a fully ordained Buddhist nun in the Tibetan vajrayana
tradition, and a teacher in the lineage of
Chögyam Trungpa. The goal of her work is the ability to apply Buddhist teachings
in everyday life. She is one of the most successful interpreters of
Tibetan Buddhism for westerners, noted for her approachable and down-to-earth
teaching style.

Pema Chödrön has conducted workshops, seminars,
and meditation retreats in Europe, Australia, and throughout North
America. She is resident teacher of Gampo
Abbey, a monastery in Nova
Scotia.

History

Pema Chödrön was born in New
York City and graduated from the
University of California at Berkeley. She previously worked as an elementary
school teacher before converting to Buddhism.

Chödrön began to study with Lama
Chime Rinpoche in the French
Alps, and became a Buddhist nun in 1974 while studying with him in London. She
first met Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in 1972, and at the urging of
Lama Chime Rinpoche, she took him as her root guru. She studied with
him continuously from 1974 until his death in 1987.

In 1984, Chödrön moved to rural Cape
Breton, Nova
Scotia, and became the director of Gampo Abbey. There, she published her first
two books to widespread critical acclaim. Pema Chödrön is currently
working on a commentary on Shantideva's
Bodhisattva's Way of Life that is due to be published in 2005.

"Sunray is an international spiritual society dedicated to planetary peace. Home
fire of the Green Mountain Aniyunwiwa and a Tibetan Buddhist Dharma center of
the Nyingma and Drikung Kagyu schools, Sunray is composed of three distinct
schools: Native American Studies, Buddhist Studies, and Healing Arts. Sunray
Practices embody three ancient intact spiritual lineages. The common thread:
teaching practical means to realize compassion and right relationship with Earth
and all relations.

Sunray offers ongoing programs of education, service, and spiritual training,
bringing together people from all walks of life to share and apply, at
individual, family, community and international levels, skillful methods of
peacemaking.

The activities of Sunray touch all levels of the family of life, from individual
to clan, community, nation, and planet. International activities include peace
building and skillfull transformation of conflict in many regions of the world.

Sunray was founded by Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, holder of the Ywahoo lineage and chief
of the Green Mountain Ani Yunwiwa. Trained by her grand parents, she is the
twenty-seventh generation to carry the ancestral wisdom of the Ywahoo lineage.
Charged with the duty to rekindle the fire of clear mind and right relationship
in these changing times she is a guide to all, who walk the Beauty Road.

Sunray is also a recognized Tibetan Dharma Center. As early as 1976 Ven. Dhyani
Ywahoo began contact with Buddhist teachers. In 1986 Sunray was acknowledged as
a Dharma center in the Nyingma lineage, through the kindness of His Holiness
Dudjom Rinpoche and Ven. Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche, and in the Drikung
Kagyu lineage, in 1986 though the kindness of His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgon
Chetsang Rinpoche and Ven. Khenpo Konchog Gyaltshen Rinpoche. In 1986, H.H.
Chetsang Rinpoche came to this area, after many divinations, seeking H.E.
Changlochen Rinpoche, a high lama of the Drikung Kagyu school, who was believed
to have been reborn in this time, and found him here.

The teachings and practice of Sunray are thus a beauteous lake receiving the
streams of three ancient and intact spiritual lineages. In that many of the
inner mysteries of the Native American religion can be perceived only through
growing up in relationship with Native American culture and worldview, we are
blessed to receive the Buddhist teachings which are available to all, offering
perspectives, methods, and vocabulary that people of all cultures may understand
and apply.

The common thread of Mahayana and Vajrayana Buddhism and the Tsalagi way is
compassion for living beings and care to create good relationships through
mindfulness: Bodhisattva ideal.

"Ven. Dhyani YwahooFounder and Spiritual Director of Sunray, holder of the Ywahoo Lineage and Chief
of the Green Mountain Ani Yunwiwa. Her training to carry the ancestral
traditions began in early childhood, under the direction of her grandparents and
elders. As repositories of the sacred knowledge of their people, they passed to
Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo the spiritual duty and blessing to carry the traditions on
which the work and teachings of Sunray are based. The elders foresaw Ven.
Dhyani’s duty to be involved in the manifestation of world peace, and that this
work would bring many people and nations again to see the clear light of right
relationship.

“The Ywahoo lineage was established 2,860 years ago by the “Keeper of Mysteries,”
the Pale One, a great teacher whose name is spoken only in ceremonies. When the
people has forgotton their original instructions, neglected their spiritual
duties, and become warlike, the Pale One came to rekindle the sacred wisdom fire.
Born in a miraculous manner, his body emitted great light, he appeared in many
places at once and he spoke the language of all creatures. The teachings of the
Pale One flourished throughout the Americas. He re-established the building of
temples and schools, reformed the priestcraft training, and gave methods for
cultivating and maintaining peace within individual, family, clan, nation, and
planet.

This great teacher was a living reminder of the unmanifest potential of all. He
rekindled the holy fire and renewed the original instructions encoded within the
Crystal Ark, that most sacred crystal that ever sings out harmony’s beauteous
note, inspiring people to act as one with the sacred law and bringing all
thoughts and actions to harmoneous resolution.”

The duties of each Ywahoo are to care for the Crystal Ark and to maintain
ceremonies for universal balance. Thus the Ywahoo lineage is the caretaker of
the crystal and of the crystal-activating sound formulas and rituals.

There have been twenty-seven Ywahoos entrusted to maintain the teachings, to
ensure methods of stabilizing the mind in times of confusion. These teachings
were passed to Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo from her grandfather, Eonah Fisher (Bear
Fishing), who received the teachings from Eli Ywahoo, his father-in-law, who was
Ven. Dhyani’s great-grandfather, and from her grandmother, Nellie Ywahoo.

For hundreds of years the sacred teachings were kept hidden. During 1969, elders
of the Etowah Band and the Ywahoo bloodline conferred and decided that the
general aspects of the teaching were now to be shared with all those of good
heart who were dedicated to manifesting peace. The elders stated that the
astronomical teachings were to be restored to the world; these are the basis for
understanding the movements of the stars that give order to the ceremonial
calendar shared by most native peoples of the western hemisphere. The elders
said that the Medicine of the Twins was to be understood by all, so that even
anger and fear could be recognized as opportunities to realize that clear wisdom
fire within. And they said that the general teachings of the Pale One were to be
shared, to give light to a new day.

These things are being done according to instructions. In 1969, Sunray
Meditation Society was founded as a vehicle for the appropriate teachings of the
Ywahoo lineage to be shared with those of one heart, and today students and
practitioners of the Sunray teachings are flourishing as seeds of light and
right relationship in communities throughout Turtle Island (North America and
the world). "

It
is a joyful time of year as the light returns and we begin anew. his has been
an especially beautiful winter, with Mt. Abraham and the valley graced again
with snow's sparkling white blanket.

We
are writing to update you on the many activities at Odali Utugi, the Sunray
Peace Village, and to invite you to participate in any way you can. First the
news.

This past summer the Peace Village was host to the 20th Annual Native American
Elders' Gathering. For two decades we have ben honored with the presence and
teaching of our respected elders. It is wonderful that they come; and it is
wonderful that the Sunray Peace Village Land Trust placed this land in trust
that there will always be a ground for the Elders to gather to council with one
another.

This winter, the Sunray Teaching Gadugi affirmed a decision to make the
Peacekeeper teachings more widely available again. You can watch this website
for news on when and where they will be offered in the coming year. The
Peacekeeper Mission offers instruction in the foundational practices of the
Sunray community.

As
many of you know, Sunray has offered instruction in the meditation practices of
Tibetan Buddhism since 1976, and Ven. Dhyani Ywahoo, also known as Pema Sangdzin
Khandro, has received and offered many teachings in this tradition. Now, with
the blessings of His Holiness Chetsang Rinpoche, Pema Sangdzin Khandro, and His
Eminence Changlochen Rinpoche, the first Tibetan Nunnery of the Drikung Kagyu
lineage in the western hemisphere is being established at the Peace Village.
For more information, you can visit the monastery link on this web page, or go
to www. greentaracoffee.com.

Also, this past winter the four principal organizations related to the Peace
Village (Sunray, the Green Mountain Band of the Cherokee, Sunray Peace Village
Land Trust, and Vajra Dakini Nunnery) together established the Joint Council to
coordinate and accommodate our growth.

These are some of the headlines. As always, the Cherokee ceremonial cycle is
maintained at Odali Utugi, as are regular ceremonies of the Drikung Kagyu
Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism. These sacred ceremonies, occurring at the Arbor,
the Peace Stupa, and the 13-sided building are beauteous events conducted for
the benefit of all beings in all realms.

It
is always our hope to welcome you and your family back to this blessed land,
recognized by many as a sacred place for prayer and meditation. Here the
prophecies of both the Cherokee and Tibetan cultures are fulfilled as three
ancient spiritual traditions flow into a mirror wisdom lake, the Aniyunwiwa or
Cherokee and the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism These intact
traditions offer teachings of compassion and loving-kindness to people from all
over the world. We hope you will again be among them.

To
fulfill our wonderful responsibility as hosts to so many people, this spring we
will complete the new year-round bathroom/coatroom addition to the 13-sided
building, as well as renovate the seasonal bathhouses. Our projected cost for
this project is just under $46,000. Already $14,900 of that has been raised.
The shell of the addition was built last fall. Building will resume when spring
arrives and our intention is to have the bathrooms completed by the end of May."

"Jetsunma2 was born in Brooklyn in 1949.
In one sense, as she herself says, she had a thoroughly ordinary
upbringing: her mother worked in a grocery store and was emotionally
unstable; her father was a truck driver and drank too much. They
both beat the kids. But she was also a bit different. Even as a
child, "I was acutely aware that people were suffering . . . and
that [they] were suffering from their minds, not poverty or disease"
(interview).

2 A Tibetan title meaning 'Lord
Protectress'. Kunzang Palyul Choling says that lamas have told
them that it is actually a 'higher' title than 'Rinpoche' (which
is how tulkus are usually addressed). I have used it throughout
this entry even though it was not employed until her recognition
in 1987.

From the age of 19, she had a series of dreams in
which she received specific instructions in meditation (though she
had never heard the term and did not call it that herself). These
continued until she was 30 years old, by which time she was married
with two children. In 1981, she and her family moved to Washington,
D.C. She began to give 'consultations' and 'readings' to people she
met, and gradually a group formed around her. They called themselves
the Center for Discovery and New Life. At this point, she was
definitely a teacher. "My whole life I felt that this was what I was
going to do."

But her teaching was not Buddhist—at least, nobody called it that.
Then in 1985, they heard about H.H. Penor [Pema Norbu] Rinpoche,
an important Nyingma lama and tulku—he was elected head of the
Nyingma school in 1993—who had left Tibet in 1960 and settled
in Mysore in southern India. He had started a monastery there and
was campaigning in the West to find funds for basic necessities for
the monks under his charge—several hundred of them, of whom about
half were young boys. In 1985, Jetsunma's group sent him some money
(and a crystal, which he wanted for a ceremony). As a result, he
came to Washington and met them.

He and Jetsunma immediately recognized each other. "I looked at him
and knew that this is my teacher, this is my mind, this is my heart"
(Washington Post, 26th September, 1988). He asked what she was
teaching and unhesitatingly pronounced it to be the essentials of
Mahayana Buddhism. "You have a rare gift," he said. "The teachings
are in your mind and cannot be forgotten." And more than that, her
students "were moving closer to enlightenment due to these teachings."
In effect, he had already implied that she was a tulku— someone who
embodies one or more of the qualities of enlightenment (see the
Tulkus entry for more detail). But he did not actually say as much
because no one in the group, including Jetsunma, had any knowledge
of Buddhism, let alone the Tibetan tradition.

They kept in touch with Penor Rinpoche. On his advice (actually, he
'saw' the building without ever going there), they bought a large
house with lots of land in Poolesville, Maryland. (This was in
1985.) Other Nyingma lamas came to visit the group and shared Penor
Rinpoche's conviction that Jetsunma—still Alyce Zeoli at that
time—was a tulku. Various divinations were done and it was agreed
that she was the incarnation of Ahkon Norbu Lhamo. She was
formally recognized in 1987 while she was visiting Penor Rinpoche's
monastery in India. At the time, even she did not really understand
what this meant.

The 'original' Ahkon Norbu lived in the seventeenth century.
Naturally, there is a 'myth' concerning her. (I use the word myth to
mean 'an imaginative construct that makes sense of something or
someone', not in the sense of 'a false story'.) She was the sister
of Kunzang Sherab, who founded a monastery at Palyul in Tibet in
1665. (The Palyul lineage is an important one within the Nyingma
school and it has continued by means of the incarnation of tulkus
until the present day. One of Jetsunma's principal teachers,
Gyatrul Rinpoche, is the tulku of Kunzang Serab.) She was not a
nun but she spent most of her life in retreat and her meditation was
considered to have made the monastery strong. This is a traditional
role for some women in Tibet, who are regarded as dakinis or
embodiments of Dharmic forces; see below. When she died, she was
cremated and several portents were observed: there was a rainbow,
and her skull or kapala flew into the air and was found several
kilometres away at the foot of the throne of her brother, Kunzang
Sherab, inscribed with the seed-syllable AH and other auspicious
marks. Penor Rinpoche says that it would float around the monastery
or appear to people as a sign. Her relics used to be brought out
once a year at Palyul; they were lost when the Chinese bombed the
monastery. But around the time that Jetsunma was being considered as
Ahkon Norbu Lhamo's reincarnation, a part of the skull/kapala with
the AH on it was found. Penor Rinpoche brought it to Poolesville for
safekeeping.

In 1988, Penor Rinpoche formally enthroned Jetsunma as a Palyul
lineage holder, and the Poolesville centre, now renamed Kunzang
Odsal Palyul Changchub Choling, was established as the seat of
the lineage in the West. He is reported as saying, "We cannot say
for sure who is going to be a tulku. They return only where they are
needed. And they have the freedom to take any form they want." (Vajradhatu
Sun, October-November 1988, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 5).

This is a fairly extraordinary story, I think you will agree.3
And Jetsunma accepts the essential myth without reservation. "When I
heard the name [Ahkon Lhamo] for the first time, I recognized it"—and
this despite the fact that she had not incarnated for 300 years. But
hers is an unusual situation, not just because she is a Western
tulku but because she is an untrained one. (They simply don't exist
in Tibet.) Penor Rinpoche told her that she needed to apply herself
to the traditional practices in the Vajrayana tradition and I'm in
the process of doing them now. But the teachings I give still remain
the same. I was not trained from birth as other tulkus are and I
haven't had time to be trained in the traditional way. So I continue
to teach from my own mind, (interview)

3 And there's more. In 1994, Jetsunma
was recognized by Penor Rinpoche and Gyatrul Rinpoche as an
incarnation/ tulku of White Tara. Previous incarnations included
Mandarava, one of Padmasambhava's consorts (letter from Kunzang
Palyul Choling, November 1996). A prayer, translated from
Tibetan and issued by KPC, contains the following verse: "In the
pure realm, Dumatala'i of Orgyen, White Tara is the principal
Dakini of Khachod, whose nature is the Dakini Lhacham Mandarawa,
appearing in the land of Tibet as Ahkon Lhamo Changchub Dron,
performing the dance of radiating and reabsorbing from the realm
of the three kayas. Beautiful light of the white AH, Lhamo Metog
Dron (Goddess Flower Light), I supplicate you to save beings in
the western realm." This is about as traditional as you can get.

One of the defining characteristics of a tulku is
that he or she performs his or her function just by embodying the
dharmic virtues. I therefore suggested to Jetsunma that in effect
she had been a tulku—and therefore benefitting beings—since birth,
even though nobody knew it until she was in her mid-thirties. She
replied,

If the teachings are correct, and I assume they
are, then that must be so. I personally do not make any great
claims for myself. I can look at my life and think that some
good things happened but I don't feel a sense of puffed-upness
and extraordinariness about it. I feel as if I am watching these
events as much as anyone else.

Meanwhile, she has started a number of projects.
Some of them are traditionally Tibetan: the construction of stupas
(an auspicious structure, going back to the time of the Buddha
himself—there are presently 14 stupas at Kunzang Palyul Choling) and
a 100-foot statue of Amitabha. Some, like accumulating a collection
of crystals and starting a Dharma school (that local children can
also attend) could perhaps be called trans-cultural (since crystals
figure both in the Tibetan tradition and in New Age America; and
everyone has to be educated, Buddhist and non-Buddhist). Some are
much more up-to-date: teaching meditation in prisons; encouraging
the (American) nuns—the monastic community at Kunzang Palyul Choling
currently consists of 37 monks and nuns—to train in the counselling
of the terminally ill; providing accommodation for the elderly so
that they can approach their impending death with a clear mind—"preparing
to enter the Bardo state", as she put it; supporting animal rights
activists who try to stop recreational hunting in the area—"as
Buddhists, we can't just stand around and watch animals being shot."
On the other hand, she does not consider herself politically active.
Despite the fact that she has mentioned the plight of Tibet under
Chinese control in the centre's newsletter, this is not her main
concern. Rather, "we support those who can't help themselves:
animals, prisoners, those who are dying" (interview).

At the same time, she offers workshops on such topics as 'Developing
the Mind of the Dakini: the practice of supreme generosity.'
According to a flier, "Jetsunma practiced this teaching of
generosity for years before giving any public instruction and long
before her recognition as a tulku. Later recognized by her teachers
as a form of Chod, the practice of supreme offering is still her
favorite practice and in many ways the basis for all her work."

While she stresses that she wants to maintain the strength and
purity of the tradition, she is also quite prepared to nudge it in
new directions. For example, she has a high regard for lay
practitioners—she is one herself, of course— and says that they can
teach just as effectively as those who are ordained. It is true that
this view is far more acceptable in the Nyingma school than in the
other three—Gelug, Kagyu, Sakya—but even so her recognition of the
fact is significant in the context of Western Buddhism as a whole.
She also hopes (and perhaps expects: she is after all a tulku, one
who can accomplish more by a single gesture or word than ordinary
beings can manage after years of effort) that the place of women in
the tradition will be improved by what has happened to her.

The obvious leaders of Buddhism are mostly males.
The male lamas are held in the highest esteem because they
functioned as heads of monasteries, lineage holders, carriers of
direct blessings which have been maintained in an orderly,
prescribed succession. The great females were rarely in these
positions but were considered primordial wisdom beings, or
dakinis . . . While the dakinis had teachers and also were
teachers, their activities were outside of the monastic
structures . . .

My being a Western woman recognized as a tulku,
gives American and Western females a sense of a place in Tibetan
Buddhism that they did not have before. In Tibetan tradition it
is the reincarnate lamas who actually hold the religion and who
are born again and again to transmit. The fact that a Western
woman would be recognized so early in the implantation of
Tibetan Buddhism into this country is a tremendously auspicious
event. (Pathways, Winter 1988-89, 5ff)

Meanwhile, she considers her job, "and my teachers
have also said this",

to stabilize the teaching so that it is strong
and to do what I can to propagate it. I am just a plain ordinary
Brooklyn girl, and I speak Brooklyn. I speak New York. I speak
American and I speak a lot of different languages that my people
speak, but I also have within my mind something that
spontaneously comes forth, an intuitive under-Standing, even
without formal training.

My teachers have examined the teachings here and find them to be
appropriate and correct. / really want to get the message out
that there is a technology for loving, that there is a way to
end the suffering of the world!* I want people to understand
that there is a path, there is a way. It's a hard path, it's a
hardworking path, but it is a way for them to do what they've
always dreamed of, and that, I hope, is to benefit all beings. I
can speak that language, I can draw the essence of that teaching
out, and I can tell you that I look at this teaching and I know
it's about love. I look at these people, these Western people
that I grew up with, and I understand them. I know that they are
good people and they want to love. I'd like to make those two
things connect (ibid., italics in the original).

This is the voice of the new spiritual phenomenon of
the West in full flow: based on tradition but not limited to it;
Eastern in inspiration but Western in expression. It does not have
to remain that way and no doubt there are many changes in store. But
it's a good start."

"The Pema Khandro Choling, also known as Dakini Valley, is a
remote 158-acre site located five miles from the closest neighbor
and surrounded by the three million acre Tonto National Forest. It
is the perfect setting for mindfulness training and spiritual
accomplishment.

Formerly a working ranch, built over a hundred years ago, Dakini
Valley is now the home of the Garuda Wildlife Sanctuary, where
thousands of birds are fed year round and all wildlife is protected
from hunting. A permanent stream flows through the valley. It is a
place of serenity and sacredness, where visitors are encouraged to
be aware of the environment and to practice active compassion. The
views, the nature, and the wildlife are inspiring.

Although not currently open to the general public, our intention
is to develop Dakini Valley into a retreat center for individuals,
and Buddhist or other compassion-based organizations. "

Janie Floren established Central Florida's first Nyingma Tibetan
Buddhist Center in Longwood, Florida in February of 1989 assisted by
theTibetan lamas.

The initial years of the Center brought forth challenges for the new
Buddhist group in the area such as finding appropriate places to hold
their meditation meetings and finding students who wanted to participate
or become actively involved with the group. At the time, there were many
different people drifting into the newly founded Center to experiment
with the Tibetan Buddhism that had become so popularized in American
culture. Unfortunately, most of those "seekers" drifted out just as
quickly, and assembling a core group of dedicated members presented some
difficulty. The first five members met in a variety of locations from
rented meeting halls to individual homes.

The Religious Leaders

Today, the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center's religious leaders and
teachers are lovingly referred to as the "Khenpos" (abbots) by the
members and their official titles are: the Venerable Khenchen Palden
Sherab Rinpoche and the Venerable Khenpo Tsewang Dongyal Rinpoche. They
play a pivotal role in the development and growth of the Center by
visiting the area often to teach and hold retreats in Longwood as well
as the Padmasambhava Buddhist Center in West Palm Beach. A visitor can
sense the reverence and love the members hold for the Khenpos when they
listen to them tell of the Khenpos' kind natures and great sense of
humors. The Khenpos' pictures are also framed on the altar in the
worship room and their bright smiles in these photographs seem to
confirm the member's words about their personalities.

Description

When a visitor attends a meditation meeting at the Padmasambhava Center
in Janie's home in Longwood, they are warmly welcomed upon entering. An
immediate sense of peace can be felt in the surroundings. The home
resides lakefront, and one can see the stretch of lawn and foliage just
beyond a beautiful decked porch. A white statue of Buddha is present on
the lawn and images of serene oriental gardens come to mind. The walls
are decorated with numerous pictures of Buddhist retreats, gatherings,
family, friends and of course, the Khenpos.

A specific worship room has been established and appropriately adorned.
Beautiful hanging Thankas depicting White Tara, Buddha Shakyamuni, and
Guru Padmasambhava are lined along the facing wall. Ornate, circular
pillows of deep purple are placed beside each member for the purpose of
holding worship books open. Greetings are kind and lighthearted before
entering the worship room, but as the members filter in, a serious mood
is felt as the members pay proper homage to the altar and prepare for
the session in a devoted manner. Special comfort preparations are made
for the visitor along the rear wall on soft futons to ease the burden of
the lotus position for the unaccustomed.

The Session

The session takes the standard Nyingma Tibetan format, and the group's
harmonious, melodic chanting (in Tibetan), fills the room revealing
their seasoned dedication. The session is inspiring as a result of the
intimate surroundings of the worship room with its soft lights and
handful of participants. The quiet meditation portion of the session
takes place in candle lit darkness and one feels a connection to all who
are present. To summerize the feeling of this particular meditation
session from a visitor's perspective, reference to Janie's words
regarding why she chose this form of Buddhism seem to be ideal as she
shared, "It seemed to be the kindest," and this is truly how it felt. It
is, simply put, very kind.

When the session is complete, the group leaves the worship room to
reconvene in the dining and kitchen area where administrative business
is attended to and refreshments are served. The visitor is engaged in
lively conversation and is immediately made to feel "a part of" the
group.

The Community and Activities

The members ethnic composition is predominately American, age thirty and
up, well-educated, and well-versed in the history and roots of the
Nyingma Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Presently, they have no affiliation
with other communities or organizations. Being a small group, there are
no organized programs for children either. The meditation sessions are
held every Wednesday at 7:30 P.M. The group has other gatherings for
special occasions where children and extended family and friends join
them such as a "tsok" where they offer food to Buddha and the Dharma
protectors. They also celebrate the New Year and Buddha's birthday. In
addition, they have a monthly newsletter and a mailing list.

Regarding the Padmasambhava Center in Longwood and it's members, Janie
relates, "After being the coordinator and founding member of this Dharma
Center my realizations are: the quality of students far more outweighs
the quantity of students, and as with anything valuable in this precious
life one must have a sincere motivation, a genuine sense of gratitude
and appreciation, and a heartfelt devotion in order to accomplish peace
and equanimity on this extraordinary spiritual path."

Central Belief

Adhering strongly to the fundamental practices of NyingmaTibetan
Buddhism, this Padmasambhava Center stands firm as devoted
representation of their beliefs in world peace, and the supreme good
fortune and well being of all.

BUDDHIST SECT ALARMED BY REPORTS THAT
LEADER KEPT HIS AIDS A SECRET / by
John Dart

Los Angeles Times, March 3, 1989

The biggest branch of Tibetan Buddhism in
America has been stunned with reports that its spiritual leader, whose
homosexual activity was known to the movement's insiders, has been infected with
the AIDS virus since 1985 but did not acknowledge the problem until last
December when a companion was also found to be infected. Called by one official
a "tragic catastrophe" in ethics, the scandal surrounding Ozel Tendzin, 45,
American-born regent of the international Vajradhatu Buddhist organization, has
been compounded by his recent decision to resume teaching and ceremonial duties
in defiance of a request by the movement's board.

On Retreat in La Jolla

Tendzin went on retreat early this month
at a private residence in La Jolla. Though he described his situation in special
mid-December meetings at Berkeley and Los Angeles, several members said he was
vague about his condition and why he did not alert others.

Sources close to senior officials of the
sect confirmed in interviews that a male companion of Tendzin and a woman friend
of the young man have tested positive for the AIDS virus.

"All we know is who slept with whom and
that all three have tested positive for HIV," said one source, referring to the
human immunodeficiency virus that leads to AIDS.

Some knowledgeable sect members are
outraged by the situation. Lisa Goldblatt, coordinator of the Portland, Ore.,
study group and a board member of an Oregon AIDS coalition, wrote to other
Vajradhatu leaders Dec. 31 that a "grave mistake" was made in not informing the
organization about the regent's condition.

"The results of this situation--a tragic
catastrophe--are that individuals have been infected and will die. Our community
is seriously injured and even the dharma (Buddhist teaching) in the West has
been marred," Goldblatt said in a letter.

Membership of 3,500

"All this would not have happened if the
regent or his colleagues had informed our sangha (community) in 1985, which was
the only responsible action to take. That the regent has AIDS is tragic," she
wrote.

The Vajradhatu network of about 35
meditation centers in North America and Europe has about 3,500 members. It was
founded in 1970 in Boulder, Colo., by the Venerable Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche,
who named Tendzin as his successor before he died in 1987.

Though rather traditional in doctrinal
teaching, the two leaders were not celibate monks as is common in Tibetan and
other Buddhist branches. Both Trungpa and Tendzin married but engaged in other
sexual liaisons--a practice that is not considered immoral in the organization.

The Vajradhatu movement has been
influential in the spread of Buddhism among Caucasians. It was a principal
founder of the fledgling American Buddhist Congress and also publishes a
newspaper read widely by Buddhists and edited in Boulder by Rick Fields, a
popular historian of U.S. Buddhism.

In its latest, long-delayed issue, the
Vajradhatu Sun newspaper depicts a transparent broken heart drawn over the
sect's logo--symbolizing the disorder and impasse evident in the organization.
Accompanying the drawing was a statement, which one reader called "pathetic,"
that the regent and the board have prohibited the newspaper from reporting on
its dilemma.

Tendzin went into retreat without
responding to the request by the Vajradhatu board to withdraw from duties for an
indefinite period.

Vajradhatu is part of the India-based
Kagyu tradition--one of four wings --of Tibetan Buddhism. The regents of Kagyu
had also advised Tendzin to withdraw for the sake of harmony and avoiding "negativity"
toward Buddhism, according to a Vajradhatu board document dated Jan. 10.

Not Attended by Physician

Tendzin, at times said to be "very sick,"
apparently has hoped he could improve his health while on retreat. The San
Francisco Chronicle and the Boulder Camera quoted from a Jan. 17 letter the
newspapers said Tendzin wrote to his followers, saying, "In working with disease,
dharma (Buddhist teaching) is the best medicine."

A one-time disciple of Trungpa Rinpoche
who is close to senior Vajradhatu officials said he was told Tendzin is being
attended by specialists in "the healing arts" but no medical doctor. A board
member confirmed that no physician is with Tendzin but declined to elaborate or
say where in La Jolla the regent is staying.

In his Jan. 17 letter, Tendzin was oblique
about his culpability, referring to the "faults of myself and others. . . ." The
Chronicle said a person who was at the Berkeley meeting with Tendzin said the
regent apologized for his ignorance, saying that "he somehow believed that he
and the people in contact with him were protected from AIDS."

In telephone calls last week to various
leaders, Tendzin said that after he ends his three-month retreat, he will resume
teaching and perform the abhisheka ceremony. That "empowerment" rite, in which
advanced students are said to get a glimpse of the "enlightened" mind, is
scheduled May 16 at the organization's contemplative center near Barnet, Vt.

'A Painful Point'

If Tendzin does insist on doing the
ceremony, "that would force things to a painful point," said an influential
figure in the organization who spoke on the condition of anonymity. "Some people
on the board hoped it would be a long leave," he said.

The Vajradhatu board, based in Halifax,
Nova Scotia, has declined to say what its next step will be. It has repeatedly
refused to confirm or deny that Tendzin has a health problem, citing in a
statement Friday that "overriding principles of medical confidentiality" were at
stake.

Speaking in general terms the statement
also said, "Although there have been a few cases of HIV infection among our
worldwide membership, the number of cases is in fact lower than would be
expected" in a group of its size. Members who fear they are at risk were advised
to be tested for the virus, the statement said.

Board member Martin Janowitz, in a
telephone interview, denied speculation within the movement that the board fears
it may be held liable for Tendzin's actions. He said there was no concern,
despite the $21.75-million award this month by a Los Angeles jury to Marc
Christian, a lover of Rock Hudson who said the late actor did not tell him he
was dying of AIDS.

Tendzin, who was born Thomas F. Rich in
Passaic, N.J., has a wife and children living in Halifax, officials said.

"I know that he made love to men and women
outside of wedlock," said an East Coast source. A Los Angeles center member who
did want to be identified said, "(Tendzin's) bisexuality has been considered an
open secret for as long as I've known him, since 1974." Another Los Angeles
member, interviewed separately, concurred: "It is fairly common knowledge that
he has had homosexual relations."

Yet, homosexual relations are not the
issue, said board member Janowitz. "We don't have a view within our religion of
moral or immoral sexual practices. We don't view, as do some other religions,
homosexual relations as any kind of sin," he said. "If anyone has AIDS, our
concern would be for their health."

Show Compassion

Many officials in the organization,
reluctant to comment at all, mostly say they want to show Buddhist compassion to
Tendzin and preserve the unity of the community.

"His actions have caused a lot of pain,
chaos and confusion. (But) people are working with the situation and practicing
more than ever now," said Marcy Fink, a Vajradhatu representative in Los
Angeles. "There is a lot of chaos, and it would be silly to deny it." She added
that none of the 100 members of the Los Angeles center have quit.

Some Vajradhatu members, however, have
sought the counsel of the Buddhist AIDS Project in Los Angeles. Recent events
"have caused a great deal of pain and questioning for many people," Steve
Peskind and Ken McLeod, the project's coordinator and spiritual adviser,
respectively, said in a joint statement."

"Vision
To establish a powerful working collaboration and research
partnership between modern science and Buddhism-the world's two most
powerful traditions for understanding the nature of reality and
investigating the mind.

Purpose
To promote the creation of a contemplative, compassionate, and
rigorous experimental and experiential science of the mind which
could guide and inform medicine, neuroscience, psychology, education
and human development.
To contribute to the epistemological revolution which is taking
place through modern physics as well as philosophy, in order to
extend our understanding of knowledge to one that integrates the
diverse dimensions of our world.

Mission
The Mind and Life Institute is dedicated to fostering dialogue and
research at the highest possible level between modern science and
the great living contemplative traditions, especially Buddhism. It
builds on a deep commitment to the power and value of both of these
ways of advancing knowledge and their potential to alleviate
suffering. It realizes its mission through a range of inter-related
activities:

Extended semi-private meetings between prominent scientists
and leading figures from the contemplative traditions, most
notably, the Dalai Lama of Tibet

Public conferences to stimulate interest in the potential of
these scientific dialogues within the larger scholarly community

Intellectually rigorous yet accessible publications, based
on Mind and Life meetings and conferences to share the power and
potential of these collaborative exchanges with the general
public

Collaborative research projects and meetings focused on
designing research, between laboratory scientists, scholars and
practitioners of Buddhism and other forms of contemplative
practice

Educational programs based on our research findings that
teach people proven, effective techniques to enhance human
development and ameliorate suffering

The Mind and Life Institute is a non-profit tax-exempt organization
incorporated under section 501(c)(3) in the United States. "

"The Mind and Life dialogues between His Holiness the Dalai Lama
and Western scientists were brought to life through a collaboration
between R. Adam Engle, a North American businessman, and the
late Dr. Francisco J. Varela (1946-2001), a Chilean-born
neuroscientist living and working in Paris. In 1983, both men
independently had the initiative to create a series of
cross-cultural meetings between His Holiness and Western scientists.

Engle, a Buddhist practitioner since 1974, had become aware of His
Holiness' long-standing and keen interest in science, and his desire
to both deepen his understanding of Western science, and to share
his understanding of Eastern contemplative science with Westerners.
In 1983 Engle began work on this project, and in the autumn of 1984,
Engle and Michael Sautman met with His Holiness's youngest brother,
Tendzin Choegyal (Ngari Rinpoche), in Los Angeles and presented
their plan to create a week-long cross-cultural scientific meeting.
Rinpoche graciously offered to take the matter up with His Holiness.
Within days, Rinpoche reported that His Holiness would very much
like to participate in such a discussion, and authorized plans for
the first meeting.Convergence and Collaboration

Varela, also a Buddhist practitioner since 1974, had met His
Holiness at the 1983 Alpbach Symposia on Consciousness. Their
communication was immediate. His Holiness was keenly interested in
science but had little opportunity for discussion with brain
scientists who had some understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. This
encounter led to a series of informal discussions over the next few
years; through these conversations, His Holiness expressed the
desire to have more extensive, planned time for mutual discussion
and inquiry. In the spring of 1985, Dr. Joan Halifax, then the
director of the Ojai Foundation and a friend of Varela, became aware
that Engle and Sautman were moving forward with their meeting plans.
She contacted them on Varela's behalf and suggested that they all
work together to organize the first meeting collaboratively. The
four gathered at the Ojai Foundation in October of 1985 and agreed
to go forward jointly. They decided to focus on the scientific
disciplines that address mind and life, since these disciplines
might provide the most fruitful interface with the Buddhist
tradition. That insight provided the name of the project, and, in
time, of the Mind and Life Institute itself.

It took two more years of work and communication with the Private
Office of His Holiness before the first meeting was held in
Dharamsala in October 1987. During this time, the organizers
collaborated closely to find a useful structure for the meeting.
Varela, acting as scientific coordinator, was primarily responsible
for the scientific content of the meeting, issuing invitations to
scientists, and editing a volume from transcripts of the meeting.
Engle, acting as general coordinator, was responsible for
fundraising, relations with His Holiness and his office, and all
other aspects of the project. This division of responsibility
between general and scientific coordinators has been part of the
organizational strategy for all subsequent meetings. While Dr.
Varela has not been the scientific coordinator of all of the
meetings, until his death in 2001 he remained a guiding force in the
Mind and Life Institute, which was formally incorporated in 1990
with Engle as its Chairman. A Unique Forum

A word is in order concerning these conferences' unique character.
The bridges that can mutually enrich traditional contemplative
disciplines and modern life science are notoriously difficult to
build. Varela had a first taste of these difficulties while helping
to establish a science program at Naropa Institute, a liberal arts
institution created by Tibetan meditation master Chogyam Trungpa as
a meeting ground between Western traditions and contemplative
studies. In 1979 the program received a grant from the Sloan
Foundation to organize what was probably the very first conference
of its kind: "Comparative Approaches to Cognition: Western and
Buddhist." Some twenty-five academics from prominent North American
institutions convened. Their disciplines included mainstream
philosophy, cognitive science (neurosciences, experimental
psychology, linguistics, artificial intelligence) and, of course,
Buddhist studies. The gathering's difficulties served as a hard
lesson on the organizational care and finesse that a successful
cross-cultural dialogue requires. Thus in 1987, wishing to avoid
some of the pitfalls encountered during the Naropa experience,
several operating principles were adopted that have contributed
significantly to the success of the Mind and Life series. These
include:

Choosing open-minded and competent scientists who ideally
have some familiarity with contemplative traditions

Creating fully participatory meetings where His Holiness is
briefed on general scientific background from a nonpartisan
perspective before discussion is opened;

Employing gifted translators like Dr. Thupten Jinpa, Dr.
Alan Wallace, and Dr. Jose Cabezon, who are comfortable with
scientific vocabulary in both Tibetan and English; and finally

Creating a private, protected space where relaxed and
spontaneous discussion can proceed away from the Western media's
watchful eye.

Continuing Progress

The first Mind and Life Conference took
place in October of 1987 in Dharamsala, and was later published as
Gentle Bridges: Conversations
with the Dalai Lama on the Sciences of Mind. The conference focused on the
basic groundwork of modern cognitive science, the most natural
starting point for a dialogue between the Buddhist tradition and
modern science. The curriculum for the first conference introduced
broad themes from cognitive science, including scientific method,
neurobiology, cognitive psychology, artificial intelligence, brain
development, and evolution. At our concluding session, the Dalai
Lama asked us to continue the dialogue with biennial conferences.

Mind and Life II took place in October 1989 in Newport Beach,
California, with Robert Livingston as the scientific coordinator.
The conference focused on neuroscience and the mind/body
relationship. Coinciding fortuitously with the announcement of the
award the Nobel Peace Prize to His Holiness, the two-day meeting was
atypical for the Mind and Life Conferences both in its brevity and
its Western venue. It has been published as Consciousness at the Crossroads:
Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Brain Science and Buddhism.

Mind and Life III was again held in Dharamsala in 1990. Daniel
Goleman served as the scientific coordinator for the meeting, which
focused on the relationship between emotions and health, and has
been published as Healing Emotions:
Conversations with the Dalai Lama on Mindfulness, Emotions, and Health.

During Mind and Life III a new mode of exploration emerged:
participants initiated a research project to investigate the
neurobiological effects of meditation on long-term mediators. To
facilitate such research, the Mind and Life network was created to
connect other scientists interested in both Eastern contemplative
experience and Western science. With seed money from the Hershey
Family Foundation, the Mind and Life Institute was born. The Fetzer
Institute funded two years of network expenses and the initial
stages of the research project. Research continues on various topics
such as attention and emotional response.

Dharamsala was once again the setting for the fourth Mind and Life Conference
held in October 1992, with Francisco Varela again acting as
scientific coordinator. The dialogue focused on the areas of sleep,
dreams, and the process of dying, and has been published as Sleeping, Dreaming and Dying:
An Exploration of Consciousness with the Dalai Lama.

Mind and Life V was held in Dharamsala in October 1995. The topic
was altruism, ethics, and compassion, with Richard Davidson as the
scientific coordinator. The dialogue has been published by Oxford
University Press as Visions of Compassion: Western
Scientists and Tibetan Buddhists Examine Human Nature.

Mind and Life VI opened a new area of exploration beyond the
previous focus on life science, moving into the new physics and
cosmology. The meeting took place in Dharamsala in October 1997,
with Arthur Zajonc as the scientific coordinator. The volume
covering this meeting is in preparation.

At the invitation of Anton Zeilinger, who was a
participant in Mind and Life VI, the dialogue on quantum physics
that had begun in Dharamsala was continued at a smaller meeting, Mind and Life VII,
held at the Institut fur Experimentalphysik in Innsbruck, Austria,
in June 1998. That meeting has been described in the cover story of
the January 1999 issue of GEO magazine of Germany.

Mind and Life VIII was again held in Dharamsala in March 2000.
The topic was destructive emotions with Daniel Goleman as the
scientific coordinator. The volume covering this meeting is in
preparation.

Mind and Life IX was a two-day meeting held in Madison, Wisconsin
in May 2001, and was organized in conjunction with the
HealthEmotions Research Institute and the Center for Research on
Mind-Body Interactions at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, with
Dr. Richard Davidson as the scientific coordinator.
Participants presented an overview of modern methods for
investigating human brain function and discussed with His Holiness
the application of these methods in new research aimed at
understanding the changes produced by meditation practice. Dr.
Francisco Varela, who was instrumental in the planning of the
meeting, was unable to attend due to illness. He passed away a week
later on May 28, 2001. We were fortunate that in his last days he
was able to observe the meeting and communicate with His Holiness
via a live video connection. Dr. Varela's presence with us at that
time was a moving reminder of the immeasurable contribution he has
made to the dialogue between science and Buddhism, and his deep
personal connection to His Holiness and to the Mind and Life
Institute. "

"Lama Surya Das is one of the foremost Western
Buddhist meditation teachers and scholars. Born Jeffrey Miller, he was raised in
Valley Stream on New York's Long Island, where he celebrated his bar mitzvah and
earned letters in basketball, baseball, and soccer at Valley Stream Central High
School (class of 1968). While a student at the State University of New York at
Buffalo, he attended antiwar protests, marched on Washington, and attended
Woodstock. After graduating with honors from college, he traveled throughout
Europe and the East, and he has spent nearly thirty years studying Zen,
vipassana, yoga, and Tibetan Buddhism with many of the great old masters of Asia.

Today, Lama Surya Das teaches and lectures around
the world, conducting dozens of meditation retreats and workshops each year.
Based on his relationship with His Holiness the
Dalai Lama, Surya Das founded the Western Buddhist Teachers Network and has
organized three week-long conferences of Western Buddhist Meditation Teachers
with the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala, India. He also teaches regularly at
Esalen, Open Center, Omega Institute, Interface, at universities in the United
States and abroad, and at spiritual centers of all kinds.

"One thousand Tibetan refugees have begun arriving in the United
States from India as part of a resettlement program which the Dalai
Lama believes will benefit "the Tibetan people as a whole."
According to Ed Bednar, director of the Tibetan U.S. Resettlement
Project, this immigration is particularly gratifying to the five
hundred Tibetans already in residence (through student visas or
marriage) who can foresee their community here strengthened and
their culture in exile perpetuated.

No federal money is involved in this operation. It's purely a
private-sector enterprise, organized and financed by a national
network of volunteers in the United States, and is the result of
several years work to circumvent the U.S. government's political
sensitivity to China on the Tibet issue. To allow Tibetans into this
country as "refugees" under existing immigration laws, the United
States would have had to acknowledge that the Tibetans could have a
"well-founded fear of persecution" from the Chinese. Despite
overwhelming evidence to validate this claim, the Bush
administration was unwilling to offend China. The current solution,
proposed by Democratic Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts,
was a special provision to the 1990 Immigration Act : which provided
entry as "qualified \ displaced Tibetans." The new I arrivals are
being resettled in nine-l teen cities across the country, ;
including New York, Boston, i Chicago, San Fransciso, and Seattle.
According to Bednar, his small volunteer staff has been working
around the clock to help facilitate this historic effort, but the
recession has slowed the fund-raising efforts and both money and
sponsors are still needed."

"Prior to the advent of the Tibetan U.S. Resettlement Project (TUSRP)
in the early 1990s, the Tibetan population in the United States was
about 500. These earlier immigrants arrived without organized
program assistance and settled in the northeast, north central and
western states. The TUSRP project brought 1000 Tibetan adult
settlers between 1992 and 1993, with subsequent family reunification
more than doubling the number by 1996. In addition to program
settlers, it is estimated that a further 2,000 to 3,000 Tibetans
have come to the U.S. from the mid-90s to 2002, primarily on tourist
visas. An undetermined, but substantial number of these visitors
have stayed beyond their visa limits and are living in the U.S.,
mainly in New York City. It is estimated that currently there are
between 6,500 and 8,500 Tibetans in the United States, however, we
have no means to accurately count the number of undocumented
community members."

"In 1992, Namgyal Monastery began an
important new chapter in the history of Buddhism and Tibetan culture in America.
Monks from the monastery traveled from Dharamsala, India to Ithaca, New York to
establish an actual branch of Namgyal Monastery in North America.

Six Namgyal monks, including a Geshe (the equivalent of a Ph.D. in the Geluk
tradition) and others with the Master of Sutra and Tantra degree were selected
to establish the Institute which would serve as the North American seat of the
personal monastery of His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama.

Although the Namgyal Ithaca curriculum has undergone several changes from
the time of its inception, the basic study program is a three-year program, with
emphasis on a systematic combination of Tibetan language, philosophy and
practice in both sutra and tantra. Classes are taught by monks on exchange from
the parent monastery in Dharamsala, India. The Namgyal Institute program is
distinguished by providing an authentic Tibetan Buddhist learning environment
with continual contact with the resident monks and visiting lamas. The regular
schedule of ritual practices followed by the monks, which Western students are
welcome to attend, set the tone for ever deeper attunement to the Tibetan
Buddhist way of life.

Open to qualified men and women, the Institute offers a unique three-year
program (plus short courses, workshops, retreats and public programs) based
directly on the curriculum of the parent monastery. The program enables students
to deepen their understanding of Tibetan Buddhism with confidence and
well-qualified direction without having to travel the 7,000 miles to India.

The Namgyal Monastery Institute
of Buddhist Studies, which is open to women and men from all over the world,
provides an opportunity for the systematic study in English of Tibetan Buddhism
in a traditional monastic setting. As an Institute of Buddhist Studies, Namgyal
combines its Tibetan faculty with an adjunct faculty of preeminent Western
scholars of Tibetan Buddhism. The Institute thus acts as a hub in the academic
world of Buddhist Studies, connecting scholars and institutions throughout North
America. "

"Colin Macmillan Turnbull (November
23, 1924 - July 28, 1994) was a Scottish-born
anthropologist who gained fame with his book The Forest
People (1962), a detailed study of the Mbuti Pygmies. In 1972,
he wrote his most controversial book, The Mountain People,
which portrayed Uganda's hunger-plagued Ik tribe. Turnbull was
an unconventional scholar who rejected objectivity. He idealized the
Mbuti and reviled the Ik.

Turnbull became a
naturalized citizen of the
United States in 1959
and lived in New York and Virginia with his professional
collaborator and partner of 30 years, an
African American Dr. Joseph Towles, as an openly gay and
interracial couple. After his partner's death in 1988, Turnbull retreated to a Buddhist
monastery where he lived out his remaining years under the name
Lobsong Rigdol before his death in 1994. Both Drs. Towles and
Turnbull died from the complications associated with AIDS."

"The Rime Buddhist Center, Monastery & Tibetan
Institute of Studies is a non-profit (501c3) religious and educational
organization located at 700 West Pennway in Kansas City, Missouri. The Rime
Center provides weekly services and Dharma teachings on Sunday morning, Tuesday,
Wednesday and Thursday evenings. It also sponsors meditation retreats and hosts
special interest group meetings related to the teaching and practice of Buddhism
in everyday life.

The Rime Center offers Tibetan language and sand
mandala courses in association with Ottawa University, an accredited institution
of higher education in Overland Park, Kansas. To date, these have been taught by
Lama Champa Tenzin Lhunpo, who has previously taught Tibetan language and
philosophy to Western students for college credit through Cornell University) at
the Namgyal Monastery & Institute of Buddhist Studies in Ithaca, New York.
Non-credit courses are also offered through Communiversity.

Historical Background

Originally founded as the Mindfulness Meditation Foundation by Lama Chuck and
Mary Stanford in 1993, the Rime Buddhist Center & Monastery & Tibetan Institute
of Studies has evolved to reach an ever-increasing number of people interested
in the study and practice of Buddhism in and around Kansas City. Lama Chuck and
Mary continue to serve on the Board of Directors and Lama Chuck serves as the
Center’s Executive Director and spiritual leader.

On June 14, 1999, the name was changed to better
reflect the goal of providing a monastery for Tibetan monks seeking to live,
work and teach in the U.S. heartland. We recieved a favorable determination
letter for 501c3 (religious organization) tax exemption on Oct. 25, 2000."

"IN autumn 1990, a Jewish Buddhist, a poet
and eight distinguished Jews traveled to Dharamsala, India, for a four-day
exchange of views -- a reciprocal teaching -- with the Dalai Lama, the titular
head of Tibetan Buddhism, who has been living in exile for more than three
decades. The Jewish Buddhist (or JUBU, as some say) was Marc Lieberman, a San
Francisco ophthalmologist, who, with Moshe Waldoks, a scholar and editor,
organized the meeting in Dharamsala as well as a preliminary discussion between
the Dalai Lama and a Jewish contingent the year before in New Jersey. The poet
and chronicler on the trip to Dharamsala was Dr. Lieberman's friend Rodger
Kamenetz, and the eight distinguished Jews included Mr. Waldoks and
representatives from all over the Jewish doctrinal map: Orthodox and
Reconstructionist rabbis, rabbis active in Jewish renewal and professors of
religious studies and modern Hebrew thought.

As implausible as that meeting in the
Tibetan enclave in the northern Indian state of Himachal Pradesh sounds, the two
sides -- Buddhist and Jewish -- were drawn together by what was at first an
almost impalpable sense of correspondence between their traditions and by the
real need for the group experiencing a new diaspora to learn something of the
arts of survival from a very old diaspora.

In 1959, when the Dalai Lama left Tibet for
his refuge in Dharamsala, the Chinese had already occupied his native land for
nine years. In their continuing hold on Tibet, they have systematically
destroyed its monasteries and temples, imprisoned and executed its people and
encouraged the settlement there of ethnic Chinese. "All told," Mr. Kamenetz
writes in "The Jew in the Lotus," "an estimated 1.2 million Tibetans have died
as a result of the occupation." It has been the Dalai Lama's task to preserve
his gentle religion not only against the predations of the Chinese Army but also
against the anger of Tibetans living in exile, to prevent Tibetan resistance
from becoming merely political and thereby losing the soul of his people's
identity.

The Jews who traveled to Dharamsala,
particularly those from the United States, were confronting a different side of
the same problem. In America, the spirituality of Judaism has been depleted by
the very adaptability of its people, by their increasing secularism. Mr.
Kamenetz, who teaches English at Louisiana State University, speaks for many
when he says: "The house of Judaism in North America has not been satisfactorily
built -- it does not have a spiritual dimension for many Jews. Too many Jews are
like me: our Jewishness has been an inchoate mixture of nostalgia, family
feeling, group identification, a smattering of Hebrew, concern for Israel, and
so forth." What he believes he witnessed in India and America was a spiritual
exile, Jews becoming Buddhists in order to find something the religion of their
birth had come to lack. For many readers of "The Jew in the Lotus," the surprise
will not be making the acquaintance of the Dalai Lama or his adherents in the
enclave called McLeod Ganj in the Himalayan foothills. The surprise will be
making the acquaintance of Rabbis Zalman Schachter and Jonathan Omer-Man, who
made presentations before the Dalai Lama in Dharamsala on the cabala and Jewish
meditation.

"Our teachings have been kept secret even
from Jews for a long time," Rabbi Schachter said. "So every day, when people get
up and say their prayers, there is an exoteric order. But hidden inside the
exoteric is the esoteric, the deep attunement, the deep way."

Nearly every major religion has developed a tension between its exoteric
forms -- accessible to all practitioners -- and its esoteric secrets, which are
restricted to a small band of initiates, if only to prevent the misuse of that
esoterica. In a series of remarkable discussions, the Dalai Lama and these two
learned, ebullient cabalists, Rabbis Schachter and Omer-Man, compare notes on
the character of meditation, its structures, rhythms and traditions. To read
these chapters is something like walking through a mythic garden, and they are
cause for reflection on many subjects, not least of them the shape of human
consciousness and what might be called a bending of tradition to such an extent
that the richness of its resources becomes inaccessible. "The Jew in the Lotus"
is the kind of book that seems, at first glance, to have been written for a
carefully delimited audience: Jews, Buddhists and Jewish Buddhists. But that is
an illusion. It is really a book for anyone who feels the narrowness of a wholly
secular life or who wonders about the fate of esoteric spiritual traditions in a
world that seems bent on destroying or vulgarizing them. It is a narrative about
an extraordinary moment in history, of course, but it is also the chronicle of
Rodger Kamenetz's discovery of what he says is a more nourishing Judaism, though
anyone who reads "The Jew in the Lotus" as a spiritual autobiography will
quickly find that Mr. Kamenetz is uncannily revealing about his religious past
and cannily uncommitted about his religious future. Along the way the reader
meets many notable people: the Dalai Lama, the profundity of whose presence Mr.
Kamenetz finds hard to translate; Ram Dass, a Jewish Buddhist who was once named
Richard Alpert; Richard Gere, who says in Dharamsala, "It's not a good idea to
argue with poor people"; and Allen Ginsberg. Insights are here for the gathering.
I have saved one that was given to Mr. Kamenetz, who is skeptical and, evidently,
somewhat irascible, by a lama from Montreal: "You doubt everything else," the
lama said. "Why not doubt anger?" Copyright 1997, The New York Times Company.

One of the two remaining founding members
of the Beastie Boys, Yauch has provided rhymes and bass guitar to
our favorite songs. Following the Licensed to Ill tour, Adam
joined forces with some old friends like Tom Cushman and recorded
under the band name Brooklyn. Recently, studio recordings of this
band have been circualting among collectors. The most memorable riff
to come out of this collaboration was what would eventually become
the bass line for the Check Your Head song "Gratitude."

Although his interest in Tibet began while
recording Check Your Head, it was not until 1994 during the
Lollapalooza tour that Beastie Boys fans were made aware of band's
involvement with the Free Tibet movement. By 1996, Yauch had
organized the first Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco, CA.
Since then, membership support for two organizations, Students for a
Free Tibet and the Milarepa Fund, blossomed. As a result, these
organizations (along with the Tibetan Freedom Concerts) have
increased the pressure on the Chinese government to change their
tradition of human rights violations.

When he's not behind the microphone, Yauch
is working on the band's music videos using the alter ego "Nathanial
Hornblower," who has directed more Beastie Boys music videos than
anyone else. More recently, he was instrumental in the release of
the Beastie Boys Video Anthology DVD project. "

"As I Develop The Awakening
Mind I Praise The Buddha As They Shine
I Bow Before You As I Travel My Path To Join Your Ranks,
I Make My Full Time Task
For The Sake Of All Beings I Seek
The Enlighted Mind That I Know I'll Reap
Respect To Shantideva And All The Others
Who Brought Down The Darma For Sisters And Brothers
I Give Thanks For This World As A Place To Learn
And For This Human Body That I'm Glad To Have Earned
And My Deepest Thanks To All Sentient Beings
For Without Them There Would Be No Place To Learn What I'm Seeing
There's Nothing Here That's Not Been Said Before
But I Put It Down Now So I'll Be Sure
To Solidify My Own Views And I'll Be Glad If It Helps
Anyone Else Out Too
If Others Disrespect Me Or Give Me Flack
I'll Stop And Think Before I React =
Knowing That They're Going Through Insecure Stages
I'll Take The Opportunity To Exercise Patience
I'll See It As A Chance To Help The Other Person
Nip It In The Bud Before It Can Worsen
A Change For Me To Be Strong And Sure
As I Think On The Buddhas Who Have Come Before
As I Praise And Respect The Good They've Done
Knowing Only Love Can Conquer In Every Situation
We Need Other People In Order To Create
The Circumstances For The Learning That We're Here To Generate
Situations That Bring Up Our Deepest Fears
So We Can Work To Release Them Until They're Cleared
Therefore, It Only Makes Sense
To Thank Our Enemies Despite Their Intent
The Bodhisattva Path Is One Of Power And Strength
A Strength From Within To Go The Length
Seeing Others Are As Important As Myself
I Strive For A Happiness Of Mental Wealth
With The Interconnectedness That We Share As One
Every Action That We Take Affects Everyone
So In Deciding For What A Situation Calls
There Is A Path For The Good For All
I Try To Make My Every Action For That Highest Good
With The Altruistic Wish To Achive Buddhahood
So I Pledge Here Before Everyone Who's Listening
To Try To Make My Every Action For The Good Of All Beings
For The Rest Of My Lifetimes And Even Beyond
I Vow To Do My Best To Do No Harm
And In Times Of Doubt I Can Think On The Dharma
And The Enlightened Ones Who've Graduated Samsara"

"Captain Larry Rockwood faces court martial by the U.S. Army
this month—not for being a practitioner of Tibetan Buddhism (which
he is), but for taking President Bill Clinton at His word. On
September 15, 1994, President Clinton announced to the nation that
U.S. forces on their way to Haiti were preparing to "stop the brutal
atrocities that threaten tens of thousands of Haitians." When U.S.
forces arrived in Haiti, however, it was a different story.

Rockwood, who was deployed to Haiti as a counterintelligence officer
for the 10th Mountain Division of the U.S. Army, had begun making
requests for information on confinement facilities in Haiti as early
as August. But when he arrived in Haiti, he was told by superiors
that human rights issues were not a priority of the Haiti mission.
Rockwood, whose father had helped to liberate a concentration camp
in Czechoslovakia during World War II, said later in a letter to
General David C. Meade, the Commander of the Multinational Forces in
Haiti, "I found it difficult to conclude that the U.S. government
could not to some degree be held ethically, morally or legally
responsible for human rights violations being carried out with the
knowledge of the [U.S. military] command...."

With these considerations in mind, Rockwood began a weeklong effort
to solve the problem by going through all the official channels.
When it became apparent that no action was intended, he filed an
official complaint with the Command Inspector General, a risky step
for a career soldier of fifteen years. Then, finally, on the night
of September 30 he decided to go it alone.

Climbing over the compound fence because he could not bear to lie to
guards, Rockwood found his way to Haiti's National Penitentiary in
Port-au-Prince, where he proceeded to conduct his own human rights
inspection. He was shown a few crowded cells but was told by prison
officials that the main segment of the prison could not be opened
until ten the next morning. He decided to wait. Two hours later a
U.S. Military-Liaison officer was dispatched to bring Rockwood home,
and he agreed to leave the compound. As he later told a reporter for
the Orlando Sentinel, "You understand, after fifteen years of
military training I simply couldn't bring myself to disobey a direct
order."

Following his return to the compound, Rockwood was read his rights
and subjected to two separate psychiatric evaluations, both of which
pronounced him sane. Afterward, he reported to his superior officer,
Lieutenant Colonel Frank B. Bragg, Jr., who asked him, "Do you
realize you are a soldier?" to which Rockwood replied, "Yes, I know.
And I am an American soldier, not a Nazi soldier."

What would Rockwood have found had he been allowed into the main
prison block at Haiti's National Penitentiary in Port-au-Prince? On
February 24, Congressman Dan Burton testified at a hearing of the
House Committee on U.S. Policy and Activities in Haiti: "I went to
that prison and found that there had been one cell where 500
prisoners had been housed for six months, standing in six inches of
excrement. . . . Some of their feet became gangrenous—I guess that's
the proper term—and they had to be amputated, and many of them
suffered from hepatitis and other diseases."

Of course, the U.S. Army would like to have been finished with this
potential public-relations disaster, but, by declining the offer of
a discharge, Rockwood has refused to let the military off the hook.
Instead, he is prepared to stand trial on May 8 for, among other
charges, "conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman."

Is Captain Lawrence P. Rockwood a good soldier? Former U.S. Attorney
General Ramsey Clark, the attorney provided to Rockwood by Amnesty
International, said that his client had correctly placed his
obligation to defend human life ahead of Army pro-toco!. "'The idea
that this could be considered conduct unbecoming of an officer is
the worst idea that the military could project," he concluded.

And what does Rockwood say? In a letter that he sends to people who
inquire about the trial, Rockwood encloses a list of relevant quotes
on human rights and the limits of military obedience. The list
contains quotations from sources as diverse as George Bernard Shaw
("The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but
to be indifferent to them: that's the essence of inhumanity") and
the Dalai Lama ("It is not enough to be compassionate, you must act")
but also includes the voices of great soldiers such as General
Douglas MacArthur:

"The soldier, be he friend or foe, is charged with the protection of
the weak and unarmed. It is his very essence and reason for being. .
.. The traditions of fighting men are long and honorable. They are
based upon the noblest of human faiths—SACRIFICE.""

"One of the more intriguing and troubling incidents of
Uphold Democracy from the Army's point of view was the case of
Captain Larry Rockwood. Assigned to the mission of
counterintelligence for the 10th Mountain Division, Rockwood
arrived in Haiti on September 23, 1994. There, he had extensive
access to sensitive information from sources throughout
Port-au-Prince. Although informed that his first concern was the
collection of information that might bear on the security of
American forces in Haiti, so-called "Haitian-on-Haitian violence"
was also a priority interest. Rockwood soon became deeply
disturbed at information contained in numerous reports that
indicated serious and continuing human rights abuses in
government prisons in the capital. U.S. intelligence had
identified five centers for incarceration and torture in
Port-au-Prince and knew of a body dump north of the city. What
especially bothered Rockwood was that the 10th Mountain Division
was apparently taking no action, either to verify conditions in
the local prisons or to establish a roster of prisoners that
would enable the Army to hold prison administrators accountable
for the well being of their wards.

Beginning with the legal section, Captain Rockwood pressed his
concern through various channels inside and outside his chain of
command and was dissatisfied at the lack of urgency that greeted
his reports and queries. Finally, on September 30, he complained
officially to the division inspector general, fully aware that
this action was hardly routine and might adversely affect his
career. Believing that he had already "crossed the Rubicon,"
Rockwood unilaterally resolved to pay a visit to the infamous
National Penitentiary to demand a full accounting of the
prisoners and the right to view the facility. Although he had no
specific information on torture at the national prison, Captain
Rockwood chose to visit it because he knew its exact location
and believed he could get there easily. If he could obtain a
list of prisoners, he would in effect establish the
responsibility of the prison administration for their condition.
In executing this plan, he violated an explicit order from his
command.

Rockwood subsequently defended his action on the ground that he
was carrying out the spirit of President Clinton's mission
statement, which included human rights concerns. By implication,
he asserted that he had received an illegal order not to
intervene. This claim received no support from any figure in the
administration. Rockwood's arrest stemmed specifically from
violation of a direct order from a superior, a fact that he
fully understood. Although he underwent a psychiatric evaluation
that verified his mental health, some speculated whether
Rockwood had been predisposed, either emotionally or
philosophically, to create an incident due to his
well-established interest in human rights and law of war issues.
His father, as a GI, had participated in liberating a German
concentration camp at the close of World War II and had
sensitized Captain Rockwood to questions of rights and prisons.
In fact, while a student at Fort Leavenworth, he had researched
a paper on the massacre at My Lai. In any case, the implications
of Rockwood's action were many and controversial. One officer of
Task Force Mountain cautioned that, in the confusion prevailing
at the time, Rockwood's hasty action potentially could have
precipitated politically motivated murders in the prison of the
very sort that the captain wanted to prevent. Furthermore,
deplorable, even dangerous conditions, could be found in many
parts of Port-au-Prince, not just the prisons. However, another
officer who was serving in Haiti with civil affairs at the time
sympathized with Rockwood's intent and believed that the Army
should have moved more aggressively to inspect the prisons.
Ultimately, Rockwood chose to subject himself to a court-martial
rather than accept nonjudicial punishment. One result was his
removal from the service.

Though fascinating in its own right, the Rockwood case is
significant to the history of Uphold Democracy, both because it
reflects the ambiguity of the American position and because it
invites further conjecture about the posture of the 10th
Mountain Division. Rockwood's legal defense sought to establish
an obligation to intercede on the basis of the law of armed
conflict or international law. The Army, in turn, maintained
that the timing of any intercession was up to the MNF commander.
No legal obligation to inspect the prisons existed, Army lawyers
argued, because the United States was not in Haiti as an
occupying power within the meaning of the Hague Convention,
which would have implied specific obligations for the well being
of the population, but as part of an MNF that entered the
country through a negotiated agreement with the Cedras regime.
Furthermore, according to the Army, customary international law
does not impose any such requirement. Despite this legal
position, early revisions of the rules of engagement did
authorize members of the Multinational Force to intercede to
halt Haitian-on-Haitian violence.

Perhaps the real point is not whether any legal requirement
existed but whether it would have promoted American aims in
Haiti had an inspection of prisons been made an early priority.
A more proactive stance on the part of the 10th Mountain
Division might well have garnered public support and mitigated
concerns that Americans were not doing enough to put down the
FAd'H. The fact that Rockwood's actions made him a hero to many
Haitians is evidence to this effect. Broadly speaking, concern
over the prisons may have been shoved aside as a result of
command concern in the 10th over force protection and the
urgency of establishing order in the streets of Port-au-Prince.
Months later, Brigadier General James T. Hill of the 25th
Infantry Division confirmed, in a public interview, that
horrific conditions still existed in the prison in January 1995
and emphasized that alleviating those conditions was a priority
concern."

In 1990 the US government enacted the Tibetan Resettlement Project. This
project granted visas to 1000 Tibetans. In 1992, 162 displaced Tibetans
arrived in Minnesota. Two Tibetans, including Thupten Dadak, had been living
in Minnesota since the mid- eighties. Dadak’s house quickly became known as
the “Tibet House” for the many immigrants who slept at his home in the early
days. In 1992, Dadak also founded the Tibetan American Foundation of
Minnesota (TAFM). The organization became the main welcoming post for
Tibetans coming to the state. Their job was very difficult in the first
couple of years, because the U.S. government did not grant the immigrants
refugee status. Dadak and his supporters had to find jobs for the arriving
Tibetans with out knowing them, their skills or their ability to speak
English. The INS began the family reunification program, in 1997, bringing
more and more Tibetans into the Twin Cities. Currently the Minneapolis/St.
Paul metro area hosts close to 1000 ethnic Tibetans, the second largest
Tibetan community in the United States, next to New York.

In the beginning the community would gather in churches and halls to
celebrate and worship. In 1994, His Holiness the Dalai Lama granted his
permission and blessing to establish the Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery
in Minnesota, the only Gyuto branch outside of India and Tibet. In
November of 2001, the monastery found a residence in a northern suburb
of Minneapolis. It is presently the home to three monks and many
activities. Although, the establishment of the monastery provided the
Tibetan community with monks and a place to gather, the space soon
became too small. The community rents out the National Guard Armory Hall
in St. Paul for its large gatherings and celebrations.

The community is presently seeking land for the construction of the
Tibetan Community Cultural Center. The center would provide a place to
gather and a means to preserve culture. Fundraising efforts for the
center were assisted by a visit from His Holiness in May of 2001. His
Holiness’ visit was very successful. In addition to the fundraising
effort, of which His Holiness only took $40, the event educated
Minnesotans about the Tibetan community.

Tibetan American Foundation of Minnesota

TAFM was founded in 1992. TAFM has created a variety of programs to
support the Tibetan community. The Tibetan Cultural School teaches
Tibetan language, history, and culture to children. It meets every
Saturday at 9:00 a.m. at Grace Unity Church in Minneapolis. TAFM
organizes traditional dance and music groups, which perform at
celebrations and other events. They offer social service referrals,
which connect families with needed services, in addition to educational
and cultural outreach programs that share the history and culture of
Tibet with Minnesotans. The foundation also hosts conferences. The last
major conference drew members from other Tibetan associations located in
different community clusters around the country. The newly elected Prime
Minister of the Tibetan government in exile spoke at the event. TAFM
also provides the community with a quarterly newsletter, Yakkety-Yak.
An executive director and a board of local community members head TAFM.

Gyuto Wheel of Dharma Monastery

This Geluk monastery was established with the blessing of His Holiness
in 1994. Only 50 of 900 Gyuto monks escaped Tibet in 1959. There are now
over 400 Gyuto monks in India. Gyuto monks traveled to Minnesota many
times before the establishment of the monastery. The monastery is
currently located in Columbia Heights, a northeast suburb of
Minneapolis. The monastery hosts classes for anyone interested on
Saturday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. On Saturday, the class
hears a lecture on a sacred text and other religious instruction from a
resident monk. On Wednesday the class participates in chanting. On
Sunday night about 100 Tibetans gather to prey and chant, and westerners
are invited to observe the ritual.

Although the monastery serves the entire community, many Tibetans choose
to practice their religion primarily in the home. Some reasons for this
are the foreign nature of a monastery in an American context,
specifically its size and architecture, and its affiliation with the
Geluk sect. Some members of the Nygima, Sakya, and Kagyu sects prefer to
worship at home.

A number of active and retired monks of various sects live outside of
the monastery.

Activities and Schedule of the Tibetan Community

The Tibetan community celebrates a number of annual religious occasions
and life cycle events. The three most notable religious celebrations are
the Tibetan New Year in February, His Holiness’ Birthday in July, and
the anniversary of His Holiness receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in
December. There have also been five weddings in the course of Minnesota
Tibetan history. They have followed along traditional lines and are
remembered fondly by some community members.

The Tibetan New Year (Losar) includes prayers by monks, traditional
dances, food and fun. In Tibet and India this holiday is traditionally
celebrated by families in their own homes. However, the Minnesotan
expression of this event involves a community gathering. Minnesotan
Tibetans follow many of the traditional observances, including painting
the door and presenting gifts to deities on a shrine. However, they are
not able to visit the high lamas as they do in Tibet and India. Members
of the community will visit each other during the day, and at night they
gather at a hall to celebrate.

The birthday celebration is usually held in a park. Tibetan officials
will give a talk and read the annual speech by his Holiness. Monks
provide prayers and chants, local youth participate in traditional
dances and songs, and there is sports, games, and food. Although
Tibetans and westerners alike attend all of these events, the
anniversary of the His Holiness’ Nobel Peace Prize is the most diverse
event. It is described as a party where the achievements of His Holiness
are honored.

Contact Phone/Fax Number
(763)789-4478

Date Center Founded
1995

Membership/Community Size
1000

Ethnic Composition
Tibetan

Prepared by Student Researcher Michel BoudreauxUpdated on August 5, 2003"

"Geshe Michael Roach is the founder and spiritual director of
Diamond Mountain. He was born in Los Angeles in 1952 and was raised
in Phoenix, AZ. As a student at Princeton University he concentrated
his studies in religion and ancient Sanskrit and Russian language.
He met his teacher Khen Rinpoche Geshe Lobsang Tharchin in 1972 in
the U.S. and studied very closely with him after that time. He was
ordained as a Buddhist monk in 1983 and is entirely fluent in the
spoken and written Tibetan language. After approximately 20 years of
daily intensive study with Khen Rinpoche in New Jersey and at Sera
Mey monastery in Southern India, Geshe Michael received the Geshe
degree in 1995 (akin to a Doctorate of Divinity). He has also
studied extensively at Sera Mey with Geshe Thubten Rinchen, one of
the great living scripture teachers. "

""The whole point then is to make money in a clean
and honest way, to understand clearly where it comes from so it doesn't stop,
and to maintain a healthy view toward it while we have it. As long as we do
these things, making money is completely consistent with a spiritual way of
life; in fact, it becomes part of a spiritual way of life." From
The Diamond
Cutter by Geshe Michael Roach

Geshe Michael Roach is a fully ordained Tibetan monk. After two decades of study
he is the first American ever to earn the degree of Geshe (Doctor of Philosophy).
Geshe Michael completed these rigorous Tibetan studies in 1995 at Sera Mey
Monastery with Sermey Geshe Lobsang Tharchin, who was appointed Abbot of Sera
Mey by His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.

Geshe Michael is an honors graduate from Princeton, a scholar of Tibetan,
Sanskrit and Russian, and a recipient of the Presidential Scholar Medallion. In
1981 he joined the diamond division of Andin International Corporation [Jewelry
manufacturer and wholesaler; Webpräsenz:
http://www.andin.com/. --
Zugriff am 2005-06-02] where he
worked for seventeen years, reaching the position of Vice President. During that
time he helped build that division to more than $150 million in annual sales and
more than 500 employees worldwide. At the same time, Geshe Michael has been
instrumental in the restoration of Sera Mey Monastery in Southern India, the
preservation of ancient Tibetan texts and has taught and translated Tibetan
scriptures in the New York area. "

The first Tibetan Buddhist
tradition to award a degree at the conclusion of the course of
studies were the Sakyas and like the geshe degree, it was
granted on the basis of proficiency in dialectical debate. It was
called Ka-shi - four subjects, or Ka-chu - ten
subjects. The subjects were examined together, so one exhibitory
debate could prove a candidate's proficiency in all the subjects.
Several of these were held. In Tsongkhapa's time this degree was
awarded at Samphu, Kyormolung and Dewachen (later Ratö) monasteries.

The Geshe Degree

A monk's curriculum is divided into six principal subjects
organized into fifteen classes. These subjects were;

Collected Topics (bsdus-gra) which were preliminary to the
syllabus proper.

The number of years spent on each subject varied from college to
college but typically it was as follows;

Collected Topics - one year
Perfection of Wisdom - five years
Middle View - two years
Discipline - one year
Knowledge -two years
Valid Cognition being studied intermittently throughout the
course.

Colleges such as Gomang in Drepung, spent as long as eight years
on Collected Topics alone, though this period could be abbreviated
by special permission for monks coming from afar. Monks who had
completed their studies, but were waiting to take their geshe
examination, spent the time perfecting their debating skills and
studying the last two subjects. Tulkus (recog-nised
reincarnate lamas) were allowed to take their exams as soon as they
had completed the cur-riculum and most returned to teach in their
own monasteries in other parts of Tibet.

Each year the monks rose one class and an annual examination was
held for those who had completed their studies, in which their
performance was evaluated by the abbot of the particular college.
The topics for their dialectical examination were drawn from the
whole course of study, but students were unable to do any specific
preparation because the topic to be debated was selected by the
abbot on the spot. Thus, it was a real test of a student's abilities
and the depth of his study. At the conclusion the abbot assigned
each candidate to a category of geshe according to his ability.
There were four such categories, Dorampa, Lingtse, Tsorampa and
Lharampa, Lharampa being the highest. Prizes were awarded to the
most successful candidates, which the abbot pro-vided out of his
personal funds, and an announcement of the results was made in the
monastic assembly, where the candidates received scarves. After this,
the geshe candidates were not allowed to miss even one of the three
daily debate sessions during the subsequent eight months.

In the fifth month the Lharampa and Tsorampa
candidates received a notice from the Dalai Lama's Debating
Assistants (Tsen-shabs) to present themselves for
examinations at the Nor-bulinka. These debates began at day break
and were interrupted for the daily assembly, at which all the
government officials gathered for tea and tsampa and those
who had requested an audience with the Dalai Lama would be informed
of the time of their appointment. The examinations were then resumed,
and continued until sunset.

Ballots were drawn to determine the order in which the candidates
would be challenged. The first candidate was then challenged by the
second, he by the third and so on in succession. The same procedure
was followed for each of the five subjects, the whole examination
lasting six to seven days. The order of the debaters was regularly
rearranged to ensure that each monk did not always face the same
challenger.

At the conclusion, the Debating Assistants discussed the
candidates' performances amongst themselves and assigned them ranks
from one to seven, which were kept secret. On the third day of the
New Year, the geshes who had been assigned to the first two
ranks were generally required to debate before the Dalai Lama,
leaving little doubt as to who would receive the highest honour at
the formal conferrment of the degree during the Great Prayer
Festival (Mon-lam Chen-mo). Though the examination at the
Norbulinka was important, because as a result the geshe was
as-signed a rank, the final decision was made at the Great Prayer
Festival by the Debating Assistants. They would observe the evening
exhibitory debates of the geshes they considered most
promising and relied on reports of the candidates from the two
abbots to draw their final conclusions. Every stage of the
geshe's examination was important and the Lharampa geshe
degree he was finally awarded had been very well earned. The actual
day during the Great Prayer Festival on which the geshe was to give
his exhibitory debate was decided during the preceeding twelfth
month. The candidates went to Drepung where one of the two abbots
collected their strings of beads, shuffled them together and picked
them up again one by one. As each of their owners rose to collect
them, he was requested to take a slip of paper from a ballot box, on
which was written the date of his exhibitory debate. Although this
custom was followed, rearrangement was often required since it was
necessary that the best geshes gave their exhibitory debates
before the fifteenth. This was done by the Debating Assistants who
received the lists from Drepung.

The College Feast

In the eleventh month, at great personal expense, the candidate
offered a meal to the rest of his college to mark what was to be the
most momentous event of his academic career. Immediately prior to
the meal, led by the head of his hostel, he circled the assembly of
monks, holding a stick of incense and a banner inscribed with verses.
Originally these verses were composed by the monk himself to
demonstrate his erudition, but later became a mere formality for
which any auspicious verse was acceptable.

The College Exhibitory Debate

The college exhibitory debates took place during the eleventh
month. There were two, an exten-sive and a brief debate. One
candidate was examined each day and the brief debate lasted from
about 12 p.m. to 5 p.m. When all the candidates had completed the
brief exhibitory debates the longer ones began. They started at the
same time, but could go on as late as 10 p.m. The length of this
college examination varied according to the categories of
Lharampa, Tsorampa and Lingtse. Since each college had four or
five Lharampa candidates per year and as many of the other
two combined, these exhibitory debates lasted about eight days.

At some point before his exhibitory debate the geshe
visited his Lama Shung-leg-pa (Hostel study supervisor) to
ask him to recommend a subject to comment on at his exhibitory
debate. On the crucial day the candidate invited the Lama
Shung-leg-pa and all the other geshe candidates to his room. The
Lama Shung-leg-pa took his place on a throne and the
candidate prostrated before him.

All were then offered a substantial meal. Immediately after this
the candidate lead the Lama Shung-leg-pa into the assembly.
All the geshe candidates sat in a row, with the candidate of
the day seated on the end to the right. Holding his fringed hat to
his forehead, he recited praises to the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas and
retold the story of the Buddha's life, Next, he commented on the
verses given to him by the Lama Shung-leg-pa and continued to
do so until the abbot interrupted him, when he began to recite
subjects of debate. In the past, these were the ones from which the
other debaters picked their topics on which to challenge him. Later,
it became a formality and only auspicious subjects were recited. The
geshe candidate concluded his recitation with an abbreviated
recapitulation of the subdivisions of the five principal topics.
Dried fruit was formally offered to the abbot and tulkus and
thrown to the rest of the assembly.

A challenger then rose and choosing an auspicious topic, such as
the mind of enlightenment, began to debate with the candidate. In
the longer exhibitory debates the challengers were experienced
geshes, who no longer attended the ordinary debate sessions. They
were followed by the Tsogchen Tulkus, high ranking
reincarnate lamas. The abbot determined the length of each de-bate.
In the shorter ones the monks who were not yet geshes or
geshe candidates and all the tulkus, even the youngest
ones are expected to participate. The topics were Knowledge and
Discipline, followed by Middle View. When the debates were over the
Lama Shung-leg-pa rose and, praising the events of the day,
dedicated all the merit to the spread of Dharma.

One more debate session was required of the Lharampa geshe
candidate. This was an all night debate on the topic of Valid
Cognition and took place at the winter congregation at Jang. The
challengers were all advanced debaters and the event was eagerly
watched by all the monks participating in the congregation.

The geshes were awarded their degrees on the twenty-fourth
of the first month, at the end of the Great Prayer Festival. If the
Dalai Lama was in Lhasa, he presided over the event which took place
in the upper storey of the Jokhang. The geshe candidates waited
outside the assembly hall, entering when their names and ranks were
read out by a government official. They received gifts of robes and
dried fruit and took their places in the assembly. Anxious crowds of
supporters from the candidates' colleges waited outside trying to
see who had attained the highest ranks.

If the Dalai Lama was not in Lhasa for the Great Prayer Festival,
the conferrment of the Geshe degree took place in the Potala.

The geshe degree was formally established at the time of the
fifth Dalai Lama in the seven-teenth century, but by the twentieth
century, like other long standing institutions its conferrment had
began to be regarded as a merely customary event. This came to the
attention of the thirteenth Dalai Lama during a visit to Mongolia,
where he was greatly impressed by the performance of local scholars.
He returned to Tibet determined to reform the geshe system and raise
the standard of scholarship. Until these reforms, Lharampa
and Tsorampa geshe degrees were awarded entirely at the
discretion of the abbots of the respective colleges. Sometimes
elderly monks were awarded the degree merely on the basis of their
seniority. In the year preceding the reforms, the Dalai Lama
remarked that several Lharampa geshe candidates were not
sufficiently qualified and warned that in future only worthy
candidates should present themselves. The following year, the abbots
were obliged to consult the Debating Assistants and the Norbulinka
examinations were estab-lished. Several candidates were judged
unsuitable, were disqualified and fined. The thirteenth Dalai Lama
also made it compulsory for geshes awarded ranks to enter one of the
two Tantric Colleges, Gyutöor Gyumey, in order to raise the standard
of education in the Tantric Colleges and to oblige the geshes
to complete their education with a thorough study of the Tantras."

Welcome to the Enlightened Business Institute. At EBI, we
provide traditional business services based on a unique world view that
explains how and why we encounter certain people, events, opportunities and
challenges in our professional and personal lives. More importantly, we teach
you how to use this knowledge to bring meaningful change to your work and life.
Drawing on the wisdom of The Diamond
Cutter by our founder, Geshe Michael Roach,
EBI helps you understand how we create and nurture mental imprints and how these
imprints determine our experience. "

"A lawsuit filed in the California Superior Court in
Santa Cruz, California, alleging sexual abuse by Sogyal Rinpoche
(head of the Rigpa Fellowship [Webpräsenz:
http://www.rigpaus.org/. --
Zugriff am 2005-06-07] and The Spiritual Care for Living and
Dying [Webpräsenz:
http://www.spcare.org/. -- Zugriff am 2005-06-07] , which were
also named in the suit), has reportedly been settled out of court.
Santa Cruz Municipal Court files indicate that a dismissal was filed
for the entire action on February 22, 1996. Rigpa spokesperson
Sandra Pawula said, "It was resolved through mediation and I can't
say anything beyond that," citing that the details of the resolution
are confidential.

The suit, which was filed under the fictitious name "Janice Doe" in
November 1994, claims that "Sogyal Rinpoche has used his position as
an interpreter of Tibetan Buddhism to take sexual and other
advantage of female students over a period of many years, and has
caused extreme injuries to many students, including plaintiff." The
suit asked for punitive damages in the sum of S10 million. Although
no amount has been disclosed, sources say that a monetary settlement
has been reached, including an agreement under which neither parry
can discuss the case."

"Born in Kham in Eastern Tibet, Sogyal Rinpoche was recognized as the
incarnation of Lerab Lingpa Tertön Sogyal, a teacher to the thirteenth Dalai
Lama, by Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö, one of the most outstanding masters
of the twentieth century. Jamyang Khyentse supervised Rinpoche's training
and raised him like his own son.

In 1971, Rinpoche went to England where he
studied Comparative Religion at Cambridge University. He went on to
study with many other masters, of all schools of Tibetan Buddhism,
especially Kyabjé Dudjom Rinpoche and Kyabjé Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche,
serving as their translator and aide. With his remarkable gift for
presenting the essence of Tibetan Buddhism in a way that is both
authentic and profoundly relevant to the modern mind, Sogyal
Rinpoche is one of the most renowned teachers of our time.

He is also the author of the highly-acclaimed
and ground breaking book, The Tibetan Book of
Living and Dying. Over 2 million copies of this spiritual classic have been
printed, in 29 languages and 56 countries. It has been adopted by
colleges, groups and institutions, both medical and religious, and
is used extensively by nurses, doctors and health care professionals.

Rinpoche has been teaching for over 30 years and
continues to travel widely in Europe, America, Australia, and Asia,
where he addresses thousands of people on his teaching tours and is
a frequent speaker at major conferences. In 1993, Rinpoche founded
the Spiritual Care Program which, under his guidance, aims to bring
the wisdom and compassion of these teachings to professional and
trained volunteer caregivers who work in end of life care."

"Kundun is a 1997 film written by
Melissa Mathison and
directed by
Martin Scorsese. It is based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama. While
it did not put up big numbers at the box office, it did win
considerable critical acclaim -- some consider it to be the very
best film by either Scorsese or Mathison.

Except for brief sequences in China and India, the film is set
entirely in Tibet. It begins with the search by Reting Rimpoche (the regent
of Tibet) for the 14th
Reincarnation of the Dalai Lama. Reting, following a
vision he has had, discovers the location of a promising candidate: a child born
to a poor herding family near the Chinese border.

Reting and other lamas administer a test to the child in which he
must select from various objects the ones that belonged to the
previous Dalai Lama. The child passes the test; he and his family
are brought to Lhasa, where he will be installed as Dalai Lama when
he comes
of age.

During the journey, the child becomes
homesick and frightened, but he is comforted by Reting, who tells him the story
of the first Dalai Lama -- whom the lamas referred to as "Kundun".
The story is touching, but it is also intended to show the
interconnectedness of all
incarnations of the Dalai Lama up to and including the child himself.

As the film progresses, Kundun matures both in age and learning.
Following a brief power struggle in which Reting is imprisoned and
dies, Kundun begins taking a more active role in governance and religious
leadership.

Meanwhile, the Chinese Communists are making noises about Tibet
being a "traditional" part of China and their desire to "unify" it
with the motherland. Eventually, despite Tibet's pleas to the
United Nations and the
United States for intervention, China invades Tibet.

The Chinese are initially helpful, but when the
Tibetans resist communist reorganization and re-education of their society (the
Tibetans are particularly repulsed by the Communists' ban on
religion), the Chinese become oppressive.

Following a series of incresingly horrific atrocities suffered by
his people (and several attempts on his life) the Dalai Lama
resolves to meet with Chairman
Mao Zedong in Beijing, feeling sure that Mao will make things right. However,
during their face-to-face meeting on the final day of the Dalai
Lama's visit, Mao makes clear his view that "religion is poison" and
that the Tibetans are "poisoned and inferior."

Upon his return to Tibet, the Dalai Lama learns of even more
awful horrors perpetrated against his people, who have by now
repudiated their treaty with China and begun guerrilla action
against the Chinese. Finally, after the Chinese make clear their
intention to kill him, the Dalai Lama is convinced by his family and
his
Lord Chamberlain to flee to India.

After consulting the oracle about the proper escape route, the
Dalai Lama and his staff put on disguises and slip out of Lhasa
under cover of darkness. During an arduous journey, throughout which
they are pursued by the Chinese, the Dalai Lama becomes very ill and
experiences several visions of the past and future. Finally, the
party makes it to a small mountain pass on the border with India. As
the Dalai Lama walks to the guard post, an
Indian guard approaches him, salutes, and inquires: "May I ask, are you the Lord
Buddha?" The Dalai Lama replies with the film's final line: "I think
that I am a reflection, like the moon on water. When you see me, and
I am trying to be a good man, see yourself.""

"It was with relief and recognition that I read the interview
with June Campbell in your Winter 1996 issue. For the first time, I
have read of someone who acknowledged similar experiences to my own
(and who implied the prevalence of that experience). I too had an
affair with a rinpoche, and then a long-term relationship with a
former Tibetan monk. While the former relationship was necessarily
more secretive than the latter, I can personally attest to the layer
of secrecy, shame, and internal conflict that continues to prevail
in the male/female relationships of those who have been immersed in
the monastic system. Whether the secrecy may be externally justified
by these Tibetan men because of the sexual nature of the
relationship (as with the young rinpoche) or because of the "Westem-ness"
of the partner (as with the ex-monk), what is clear is that
individuals who have been monastically trained hold a great deal of
ambivalence towards their relations with women, and a need to
contain the woman in specific, limited roles. This, as June Campbell
indicates, should not be unexpected given their monastic training.
But, as more monks leave the monastery for a layperson's life, and
Tibetan culture changes and adjusts in response to continued
exposure to the West, how will this training impact on the survival
of Tibetan culture?

What is particularly interesting to me is the cultural role that
Western women are playing in the perpetuation of this secrecy and
ambivalence with regard to male/female relationships. I could relate
and admit to the feelings of specialness and chosen-ness that June
Campbell describes (these wise spiritual men had chosen me!); the
possible allure of a Tibetan monk/ex-monk may be the obstacles he
must overcome in order to be partnered with a Western woman.

Perhaps it is Western women's own lack of identity that encourages
this objectification. It is my belief that Western women participate
in these relationships for all the normal relationship reasons, but
perhaps most significantly to achieve "wisdom" vicariously, and an "interesting-ness"
or specialness through the lens of another person and culture.
Western women collude in the secrecy, perhaps with the hope that
their role will one day be integrated and recognized. It is my
experience that it never will.

"Statement by H.H. Penor Rinpoche Regarding the Recognition of Steven Seagal as a Reincarnation of the Treasure Revealer Chungdrag Dorje of Palyul Monastery

In February of 1997 I recognized my student,
Steven Seagal, as a reincarnation (tulku) of the treasure
revealer Chungdrag Dorje. Since there has been some confusion and
uncertainty as to what this means, I am writing to clarify this
situation.

Traditionally a tulku is considered to be a reincarnation of a
Buddhist master who, out of his or her compassion for the suffering
of sentient beings, has vowed to take rebirth to help all beings
attain enlightenment. To fulfill this aspiration, a tulku will
generally need to go through the complete process of recognition,
enthronement and training.

Formal recognition generally occurs soon after a tulku has been
identified, but only after other important lineage masters have been
consulted. The newly identified tulku does not take on any formal
responsibilities at the time of recognition.

The next step of enthronement may or may not occur for a tulku,
depending on the circumstances. Enthronement formally invests the
tulku with the responsibility of furthering the activities
associated with their particular tulku lineage. Thus, if there are
specific teachings and practice traditions associated with their
lineage, and if there are perhaps monks, nuns, monasteries, retreat
centers, lay communities and so forth for which the tulku
traditionally takes responsibility, then the tulku is formally
vested with those responsibilities at the time of enthronement. In
the event that an enthronement ceremony is conducted, it may take
place soon after recognition or some years later. If the tulku is
too young to assume their responsibilities upon enthronement, others
may be entrusted to take on those responsibilities until the tulku
is ready.

Finally, a tulku needs to complete a formal course of training
which includes years of study and meditation. This training
reawakens the tulku's powers of insight and compassion and develops
their skillful means for helping others. It is only after such
training that a tulku is ready to take on the role of a teacher.

In the case of Steven Seagal, he has been formally recognized as a
tulku, but has not been officially enthroned. He has also not
undergone the lengthy process of study and practice necessary to
fully realize what I view as his potential for helping others. When
I first met him, I felt he had the special qualities of a tulku
within him. According to the Great Vehicle (Mahayana) of the
Buddhist tradition, all beings have within them the potential for
becoming Buddhas. With Steven Seagal I perceived this potential to
be particularly strong as accords with being a tulku. In the past,
whenever I have met someone that I feel is a tulku, I have always
consulted with other masters of the Nyingma lineage such as Dudjom
Rinpoche, Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche and other senior lineage holders.
Similarly, after my experience of meeting Steven Seagal, I consulted
with another important Nyingma master and with his concurrence,
recognized Steven Seagal as a tulku.

With regard
to the particular circumstances of Steven Seagal's recognition, while it is
generally the case that tulkus are recognized young in life, this is not always
so. For example, the great master Jamyang Khyentse Chökyi Lodrö remained
unrecognized for many years while he was an ordained monk at Kathok Monastery.
He was over 30 years old, perhaps 35, and had completed his monastic education
when he was recognized and enthroned as the first reincarnation of Jamyang
Khyentse Chökyi Wangpo. In his case, he had devoted his life to study and
practice and was thus prepared for taking on the full responsibilities of being
a tulku at the time of his recognition.

Prior to my recognition of Steven Seagal I myself recognized
another tulku late in his life. Kalsang Yeshe Rinpoche, a monk
originally from the Palyul branch monastery of Shibo in Tibet and
later at Namdroling Monastery in India, was recognized and enthroned
in 1983 at the age of 51. He too had spent his life studying
Buddhism and meditating before he was recognized as a tulku. Because
he had cultivated his potential through many years of diligent study
and meditation, he was able to become a teacher and is currently the
head of our Palyul Center in Singapore. So, in short, in the Tibetan
tradition there is nothing unusual about recognizing a tulku late in
their life. In fact, the recognition of a tulku who has been born in
the West is especially likely to occur later in their lifetime
because it will generally take much longer for all the conditions
that are necessary for such a recognition to come together.

Steven Seagal has been recognized as a reincarnation of the 17th
century hidden treasure revealer (tertön) Chungdrag Dorje
(khyung brag rdo rje) of Palyul Monastery. Chungdrag Dorje
founded a small monastery called Gegön Gompa near his native village
of Phene in the Kutse area of Derge in Eastern Tibet. Though there
are no monks there now, the small monastery building still exists
and is well known in the area for its beautiful religious wall
paintings.

As a tertön, Chungdrag Dorje rediscovered teachings and sacred
objects hidden by Padmasambhava in the eighth century. Such
treasures (terma) were concealed with the intention that they
would be discovered and revealed at a later date when the
circumstances were such that they would be of particular benefit to
sentient beings. Texts of the teachings discovered by Chungdrag
Dorje have apparently not survived the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Sacred objects discovered by Chungdrag Dorje include an unusually
shaped bell, a phurba (ritual dagger), the syllable 'A' carved in
stone and pigments used to create the sacred wall paintings in his
monastery mentioned above. Several of these objects have been
preserved and are still kept at Palyul Monastery today.

In the Nyingma tradition it is said that there are a hundred main
treasure revealers and an even greater number of secondary treasure
revealers. Among the latter it is not uncommon for the line of their
teachings to eventually lapse. Though they were beneficial during
the time they flourished, for various reasons some tertön teaching
lineages have ceased. This would seem to be the case with Chungdrag
Dorje.

Now with regard to Steven Seagal, he was born centuries after the
death of Chungdrag Dorje. It is not uncommon for there to be a
lengthy span of time between the death of a master and the
appearance of his or her subsequent reincarnation. My own tulku
lineage is an example of this. There was a 130 years hiatus between
the death of the First Pema Norbu in 1757 and the birth of the
Second Pema Norbu in 1887. This is common in all the traditions of
Tibetan Buddhism. As for how these gaps come about, while tulkus are
understood to have vowed to be continually reborn to help beings, it
is not necessary for them to take rebirth in a continuous sequence
of lives in this world. It is believed that they can be reborn in
other world systems where they continue their compassionate
activities, returning only later to this world system. This is how
such lapses in tulku lineages are understood in Tibet.

As for Steven Seagal's movie career, my concern is with the
qualities I experienced within him which relate to his potential for
benefiting others and not with the conventional details of his life
which are wholly secondary. Some people think that because Steven
Seagal is always acting in violent movies, how can he be a true
Buddhist? Such movies are for temporary entertainment and do not
relate to what is real and important. It is the view of the Great
Vehicle of Buddhism that compassionate beings take rebirth in all
walks of life to help others. Any life condition can be used to
serve beings and thus, from this point of view, it is possible to be
both a popular movie star and a tulku. There is no inherent
contradiction in this possibility.

As the head of the Palyul lineage of the Nyingma School and more
recently as the Head of the Nyingma tradition of Tibetan Buddhism, I
have had the responsibility of recognizing numerous tulkus. The
first time I recognized a tulku, I was ten years old. This tulku was
the incarnation of the great Khenpo Ngaga. He is still living in
Eastern Tibet and continues to strive, to this day, to promote the
welfare of others. Since that time until now I have recognized over
one hundred tulkus. In addition I have overseen the training and
enthronement of over thirty khenpos (learned scholars) and I am
responsible for the welfare of the many thousands of monks belonging
to the Palyul tradition. My concern in seeking to nurture these
tulkus, khenpos, monks, as well as sincere lay people, has been to
benefit all sentient beings. It is out of this intention that I have
recognized tulkus in the past and will continue to recognize them in
the future as appropriate.

In the case of my student Steven Seagal, I initiated the decision
to recognize him as a tulku based on my own feelings about him.
Neither I nor any of my monasteries have received or sought any sort
of substantial donation from him. What is important to me are the
qualities I have seen in my student. For this reason I feel
confident that recognizing him as a tulku will be of benefit to
others as well as to the Buddha dharma.

Whenever there is a new incarnation born or recognized, I
personally feel very happy because it is like you have one more
brother or sister. I take delight in such occasions as they seek to
further compassionate activity for others. Being recognized as a
tulku is an acknowledgment of one's potential to help others. Such
recognition does not mean that one is already a realized teacher.
The degree to which tulkus have been able to actualize and utilize
their potential depends upon how they have been able to use their
past circumstances and how they currently use their present
circumstances to develop their potential. Each tulku must work to
develop themselves to the best of their ability. The essential point
is that a tulku should strive to help others in whatever life
situation they find themselves. It is out of such an aspiration to
help all sentient beings that I have recognized many tulkus in my
life and it is with this motivation that I recognized Steven Seagal
as a tulku. If all beings seek to have this motivation, what need
will there be for controversies and confusion over the motivations
of others?

"Eugene Perry, of Tucker Prison death row in Arkansas, was
executed by the State of Arkansas on Wednesday August 6, 1997. Gene
began his last words by saying "I am innocent of this crime."

Gene was Frankie Parker's best friend during the years they
shared in prison. Both were interested in spiritual and
philosophical exploration and were artistically very creative. Gene
was a painter who has had many one man shows and has been praised
highly for his artistic work.

As did Frankie Parker, Gene has studied world religions while in
prison, with a growing appreciation of Buddhism. Gene took Buddhist
refuge with Lama Tharchin Rinpoche of Pema Osel Ling, a Nyingma
Tibetan Buddhist Center in Corralitos, California.

Convicted of murder in a jewelry store robbery in 1980, Gene
Perry always stated that he was not in the state of Arkansas on the
day that the crime was committed and that he was innocent of the
crime. There were others who confessed to the crime prior to his
death, indicating that Gene was not involved. He turned 53 in July
1997. "

"Geshe Nicholas Vreeland, grandson of the late Vogue
editor Diana Vreeland, has found a way to integrate his practice at
a Tibetan monastery with his family background in fashion. Over the
past two years, he has launched a business selling upscale home
furnishings inspired by the simple items used by Tibetan monks. Silk
bedspreads ($2,200) and cotton bags ($70) are among the items made
by monks who weave, dye, and stitch by hand the fabric for products
that retail at tony New York stores such as Felissimo and ABC
Carpets.

They are made by monks from the Rato Monastery in southern India
where Vreeland is one of about seventy monks in residence. The
budget of the monastery, already largely dependent on donations from
the West, is under severe strain because of an increasing influx of
refugees from Chinese-occupied Tibet. "We have no idea how many
monks will come," the monastery's administrator is quoted as saying.
"That is why we started this business."

The line is supervised by fashion industry friends of Vreeland's,
designer Jason Chenyan and his wife Reena, and will soon expand to
include metal items such as incense burners. Speaking at the
monastery with a New York Times reporter, Vreeland commented, "Sadly,
the upmarket aspect of our products does not reflect the situation
here.""

"Thank you for the article on the Shugden controversy. You have
once again proved your commitment to open dialogue and fearlessness
and have raised the controversy to the level of an honest debate—a
time-honored tradition of settling disputes in Tibetan Buddhism.

Within the debate, we must ask the question: Are Tibetan Buddhism
and the Tibetan political cause inseparable? As Buddhists in the
Tibetan tradition, are we automatically conscripts, willing or
otherwise, in the Dalai Lama's political battle? Where is the line
drawn between our loyalty to Buddha and our loyalty to the worldly
political goals of the Tibetan govemment-in-exile?

This tug-of-war between spirituality and politics is reflected in
the dual roles of the Dalai Lama himself. Is he a spiritual leader
or a politician? True, it has been in his interest to blur the
distinction, but no leader is immune to the tyranny that inevitably
results.

The Dalai Lama is making spiritual decisions to address political
concerns. The "unity" of the Tibetan people is illusory, at best, if
it is achieved through religious oppression, documented intimidation,
and spiritual degradation Where, in the maturing process of the
American Buddhist movement, do we infuse the wisdom of "separating
church and state"? I go for refuge to the Three Jewels daily, try to
cultivate a peaceful mind, and dedicate this precious human life to
benefit others, but I have a powerful and helpful protector who is
currently out of favor with those in power. If this type of
authority continues to be wielded, causing harm to Western
practitioners, all students of Tibetan Buddhism must ask themselves:
Am I next? Is my beloved practice the next one to be sacrificed on
the "altar" of worldly political aims?

"There has been in recent years much justifiable condemnation of
the Chinese government for its repressive policy in Tibet, not only
by Buddhist adherents, but also by broader human rights groups. One
of the bases of Buddhist practice is the practice of compassion.
Therefore it is somewhat peculiar that the political compassion
extended to Tibet is not and has not been extended to other
repressive regimes—those in South and Central America, to Indonesia
for its actions in East Timor, to many of the former and present
African countries. I do not see much compassion extended to the many
millions of our own people and those others immigrating here, many
of them children, who are in extreme poverty in increasing numbers.
It is only in the case of Tibet that we are in our compassion
consonant with the foreign policy of our government. Perhaps some
wise reflection on these matters is in order

"Paula Newby-Fraser (born June 2, 1962) is a
legendary
Ironman triathlete. She won the
Ironman Triathlon in Hawaii an unprecedented 8 times in 1986, 88, 89, 91, 92,
93, 94, and 96. Her six consecutive victories between 1988 and
1994 are the longest winning streak in the history of the Hawaii
Ironman Triathlon. She is also referred to as "The Queen of Kona".

Newby-Fraser won 23 Ironman races overall between 1986 and 2002.
Among numerous other awards, the
United States Sports Academy named her as one of the top 5 professional women
athletes of the last 25 years (1972-97). Newby-Fraser is the
current holder of the Ironman world record of 8:50:24."

I found this Tibet Freedom advertisement campaign in the March issue of ELLE
magazine. A 2 page advertisement on the right page it looked like any other
fashion spread, a women in a gauzy red skirt shod in flat red sandels on the a
sunny beach, foot prints trailed behind her. On the left side I found a stark
contrast to this fashion dream, red and black duotone photos of Tibet children
each looking in sadder and more sublime as they grow in age. In bold letters
read the words "Walk With Us". The caption reads:

His name is Ngawang Choephel. He is a Fulbright Scholar at Middlebury College in Vermont.
He is a gifted musician. And, because he is Tibetan, he is now a prisoner. Every
day, countless innocent Tibetans are jailed and tortured for
the crime of pursuing their own beliefs. Please join us as we seek to gather 1 million signatures in
a petition for Ngawang Choephel's release. Give a voice to those who can't speak.

This is the Charles David
"Walk with Us" ad campaign. In collaboration with the
The International Campaign for Tibet
Charles David is "inviting consumers to vote with their feet and liberate
political prisoners" (Advertising Age, Cordona) as part of their current ad
campaign."

"Upscale footwear manufacturer Charles David is taking a big
step to raise awareness—and funds—for a Buddhist cause. This spring,
the California-based company launched a SI million print ad campaign
to aid Tibet in major magazines like George and Elk. Called "Walk
With Us," separate full-page ads picture the 11th Panchen Lama, who
disappeared in 1995, and Ngawang Choephel, Fulbright scholar at
Middlebury College, another political prisoner. The ads' goal: To
garner one million names asking for their release to present to U.S.
and Chinese governments. Signatures are being gathered on two
websites: www.savetibet.org and www.charlesdavid.org. The
International Campaign for Tibet, partner with the company, helped
designate Tibetan organizations to receive proceeds from fundraising
events being held throughout the year.

One of the hottest is a website auction featuring khatas (www.
charlesdavid.org) signed by luminaries such as Leonardo DiCaprio,
Brad Pitt, and Adam Yauch, each of whom designates which Tibetan
charity will benefit. Proceeds from Billy Zane's and Harrison Ford's
khatas went to New York's Tibet House, for instance, according to
Rachel Taylor, marketing director of Charles David. Taylor, who also
conceived the campaign, said,

"No one at the company is Buddhist. But we've been wanting to
do something for human rights for a while. When I saw Kundun, I
realized so few people know about what was going on in Tibet.
That inspired me, and the company said yes."

Other fund-raising events will include walks, auctions of
celebrity items, plus proceeds from a portion of Charles David sales
in stores—either a week's or a month's sales, still to be determined
at press time."

"In a recent issue of New Age, Clark Strand, who identifies
himself as a former senior editor of Tricycle, writes that Tricycle
has been denied permission to reprint the work of Trungpa
Rinpoche, and this became standing policy following your
publication of an article that people at Shambhala felt was unfair
and slanderous to Trungpa. I am writing to ask if this is true.
Among my own friends it has been assumed that the absence of Trungpa
Rinpoche in Tricycle was your decision and was based on your biases.
Can you please clarify?

T. Z. Madden
e-mail

Clark Strand is correct. Tricycle had published several excerpts
from Trungpa Rinpoche's writings. Then an article about Trungpa
Rinpoche and his successor appeared in the Winter 1994 issue. The
material was not new, and the facts were not contested, but
Tricycle's requests for permission to reprint writings of Trungpa
Rinpoche have since been denied. —Ed."

"Buddha from Brooklyn
begins like the biographies Crooked Cucumber and
Cave in the Snow--a venerated Buddhist teacher from humble
beginnings is surrounded by respectable Western students. Unlike the
seasoned masters Shunryu Suzuki and Tenzin Palmo, however,
Jetsumna Ahkon Lhamo, the red-headed woman from Brooklyn who
wore a black leather jacket and stick-on nails, had no Buddhist
training. And still she had managed to build up the largest
monastery of Tibetan Buddhists in America. Martha Sherrill, a
journalist for The Washington Post, introduces us to
Jetsumna's monastery outside Washington, D.C., and to the world of
Tibetan Buddhism. With a measured hand, she unfolds the life of
Jetsumna and her acolytes, revealing the unshakable devotion, the
enormous sums of cash, the ostracism, and the mysterious magnetism
of the highest-ranked woman in Tibetan Buddhism. Jetsumna joined the
illustrious ranks of Tibetan lamas after being discovered to be an
enlightened reincarnation by the same lama who would later discover
Steven Seagal. As Sherrill learns, Jetsumna did appear to be
enlightened, and her students believed in her infallibility. They
became model Tibetan Buddhists, doing prostrations, building stupas,
saving all sentient beings. So why did the group occasionally seem
like a cult? In a narrative of complexity and sensitivity, Sherrill
struggles with the answers to this and other doubts even while she
is attracted to the religion herself but troubled by its embodiment
in this stretch of wilderness outside America's capital. --Brian
Bruya"

""Jan Willis (BA and MA in Philosophy, Cornell University; PhD
in Indic and Buddhist Studies, Columbia University) is Professor of Religion and
Walter A. Crowell Professor of the Social Sciences at Wesleyan. She has studied
with Tibetan Buddhists in India, Nepal, Switzerland and the United States for
more than three decades, and has taught courses in Buddhism for twenty-five
years. One of the earliest American scholar-practitioners of Tibetan Buddhism,
Professor Willis has published numerous essays and articles on Buddhist
mediation, hagiography, and women and Buddhism." (Wesleyan University)

"Willis, a coal miner's daughter, was born in Docena,
Alabama. During the 1950s and '60s the town was a stronghold of the Alabama Ku
Klux Klan where the commonality of economic oppression made the need to push
blacks to the bottom of the heap even more desperate.

Willis was almost small enough to fit under the bed when the
KKK burned a cross in the alleyway beside her home. At 4, she confounded her
mother by falling in love with Dvorak and Rimsky-Korsakov and deciding to become
a conductor. She was 5 when her mother pronounced her ''evil'' for being
''smart'' and 14 when baptized a Baptist.

But it was in 1963, that Willis left home, heading north to
Ithaca, N.Y., for the Telluride Association's special summer program at Cornell
University. She was a militant-leaning Black Power college student bearing white
blood from three generations back, raised in the Jim Crow South. But at college,
her intelligence was the norm, not the exception. She made friends who didn't
see ''race'' when they looked at her. She fell in love with philosophers and
with Buddhism, and she took an offer to study Buddhist philosophy in India for a
year.

Willis had vowed to continue her studies in Nepal after
college. But when Fred Hampton, leader of the Chicago Black Panther Party, was
killed in 1969, it challenged her to take up the cause of civil rights at home."
(Jackson
Sun)"

"In the Winter 2001 issue, Judith Lief exhorts us, in the
wake of September 11, to face up to how attached we have been to our
privileged and sheltered lifestyle. She identifies herself as a
student of Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and says that he
sometimes compared our lifestyle to a "god realm" existence. Lief
goes on to write that the "pseudo-security of the god realm is based
on deliberately ignoring the larger world and hunkering down in a
safe haven where we can enjoy pleasures at all levels—material,
emotional, and spiritual." "We need," she writes, "to go beyond 'yuppie
dharma,' the trendy but shallow self-improvement approach that
leaves our basic mindset unchallenged."

So I am wondering how this eminently profound view of both Ms. Lief
and her teacher squares with Marilyn Webb's article on the
opening of The Great Stupa in Colorado built by Trungpa Rinpoche's
students to honor him and to contain his cremated remains. With a
string of superlatives, the author, another student of Trungpa
Rinpcoche, touts the stupa as the "first," the "biggest." The price
tag is "$2.7 million—a bargain . . . for what it bought."

Indeed, this sounds a lot like "hunkering down in a safe haven" to
me, and even more, it bespeaks a basic mindset—one that developed in
old Tibet— that is going unchallenged. The conflation of religion
and the politics of power have found their newer expression in an
architectural extravagance that is far more ostentatious than it is
devotional. However one might celebrate this structure in the United
States, it seems that on some level, it cannot be presented as free
of the impulses and indulgences of yuppie dharma, in which
everything that is first and most and biggest is best.